Shifting Destinies
by cyberdemon
Summary: Sequel to Chaos Returns. A second chance has been given. Will destiny only repeat itself or will they be able to create a new destiny for themselves. Will it be that easy with Zack still on the loose. VF.
1. the day after

The two of them sat there in silence. There was an uneasy silence between them. Van just sat leaning with his back against the head of the bed. He just stared at Fiona waiting for her to say anything.

Fiona was sitting on the end of it staring uneasily into any part of the room except into Van's direction. She was at a loss for words. She had no idea what to say to Van after what they went through the previous night. It all happened so fast that it just confused her to no ends.

Van opened his mouth to say anything but closed it almost immediately. He seemed so much easier to talk to her when he was trying to convince her not to leave. Now he just couldn't find the words to say what he needed. He didn't really regret it but he wasn't so sure of Fiona.

"V-Van?" Fiona said turning her head slightly to the side but not actually making eye contact with Van. Her hands were trembling, her breathing was ragged, and she was nervous as hell.

"Yes Fiona," Van said looking at her but she was still staring at anything but him. That made him have a feeling that she really did regret their night together. He was hoping that he was wrong but something in the pit of his stomach told him that he wrong about that.

"Listen Van. What happened between us last night was a mistake. Neither of us should have let it get as far as it did," Fiona said although it was tearing her heart apart inside. Something told her not to do this. She didn't want to but she felt like she would be holding Van back if she stayed.

Van hated it when he was right. He didn't want to let what they have go. "Fiona, I…" he started to say but Fiona put a finger up to his lips which silenced out the rest of the sentence that he was trying to get out.

"Van we have such a great friendship and I don't want to do anything that could possibly ruin it. It means much more to me than anything. It would be wise if you were just to forget about it," Fiona said removing her finger before standing up. She then started to walk towards the door hoping to make an escape before anything else could ruin her friendship with Van. She knew that what happened meant that they could never go back to what they once were.

Van stood up quickly and ran over to Fiona and lightly grabbed her arm. "Fiona wait," he said but was disheartened when Fiona freed her arm from his grip before she walked out the door. Van knew that he couldn't follow because he was still in his underwear.

Van fell back on the bed with a groan and smothered his face within his hands. 'How the heck could this have happened so quickly? Up until now, we were nothing but the best of friends. Because of last night, she can't even look me straight in the eye. I want to be with her though,' Van thought as he quickly got dressed and ran out of the room in search of Fiona.

* * *

Moonbay watched as Van once again attempted to get Fiona to talk to him, only to have Fiona run off. "What the hell is going on between the two of them? Ever since Van woke up a month ago, Fiona has been doing everything in her power to ignore him," she said leaning against the wall with a mug of coffee in her hand.

"I don't know why she is doing it but I m willing to bet that something happened between them. Fiona is usually using every attempt she can to be with Van. She stayed by his side the entire time that he was in the hospital," Irvine said walking up from behind Moonbay and he leaned against the wall next to her.

Moonbay sighed and hit her head against the wall. "She was always so crazy about him. It must be something serious for her to be trying to avoid him. I wonder what happened that night," she said repeating hitting the back of her head against the wall.

"Stop doing that Moonbay. It is starting to get a bit annoying. About what happened, only Van and Fiona can tell us. I have a strange feeling that I know what it is," he said with a smirk on his face.

Moonbay looked at him a little confused but just shrugged it off. "Listen, I am going to go find Fiona and try and talk her out of this thing that she has going with Van. It just doesn't seem right to see them apart from each other," Moonbay said finishing up her coffee before she walked away.

She walked up to Fiona's room and was about to knock on the door but before she was able to do anything, she noticed that the door was already open. "Fiona?" Moonbay asked opening the door slowly taking in the sight of the empty room.

She walked into the room and looked around but she didn't see any sign of Fiona. She suddenly heard a noise and turned in the direction of it. It was coming from behind the closed bathroom door.

Moonbay walked up to the door and put her hand up and knocked on it. "Fiona? It's me, Moonbay," she said when she heard more sounds. She heard more noises and pushed on the door to find that it was already open. "Fiona?" Moonbay asked only to see Fiona's head hung over the toilet heaving out her stomach.

Moonbay rushed over to Fiona's side and started to give light pats on Fiona's back. "Are you ok Fiona?" Moonbay asked when Fiona had finally stopped throwing up. All she received was a no from Fiona as she shook her head. "What's wrong then?" she asked as she stepped back from Fiona as she stood up.

Fiona stood up and wobbled over to the sink as she leaned against it for support. "I honestly don't know Moonbay. I just haven't been feeling too good lately," she said as she filled a glass of water before drinking it and then spitting it out to get rid of the bile taste in her mouth.

"If you're feeling this sick, then why don't you go see a doctor? Maybe he can also examine your head to figure out why you are doing this to Van," Moonbay said jokingly but she didn't hear anything from Fiona and turned to look at her. "What is going on between you and Van Fiona? Why are you constantly avoiding him?" Moonbay asked softly putting a hand on Fiona's shoulder.

Fiona tensed up at the sound of Van's name. "I just can't face him Moonbay. Everything has changed between us; I don't think it will ever be the same again. Why do things have to change?" Fiona asked sadly dropping her head to look at the floor.

"How has it changed any Fiona?" Moonbay asked but she didn't receive a reply from Fiona. "You do know that not all change is bad. Van has been trying so hard to get you to talk to him but you just keep running off and not even giving him a chance to say what he wants to say. What happened that you wouldn't give him a chance to say anything?" Moonbay asked with all seriousness in her voice.

Fiona's body shook as she tried to block out all images from the night. A small tear fell down her eye. "I tried to run away. Van ended up catching me before I could leave. He was so intent on stopping me. Something happened though, and we ended up kissing each other," Fiona said and shook since she was afraid to continue on.

Moonbay was glad to hear that they were able to do that. She had an extremely happy look on her face. "How is that so bad Fiona? You two have a chance at something. So why would you ignore him because of that?" Moonbay asked staring at Fiona intently but then she noticed how scared Fiona looked. "Fiona?" Moonbay asked softly.

"It didn't end with just a kiss. Things got too wild after that and we ended up… ended up," Fiona said but her body just shook as more images of that night continued to flash in her mind.

Moonbay's hand flew up to her mouth to stifle the gasp that came out. "You… you and Van… had sex?" Moonbay asked and she saw Fiona just nod her head. Suddenly she had some other suspicions. "Fiona? Are you…" Moonbay said but was stopped when Fiona put her hands over her ears and shook her head wildly.

Fiona didn't even want to think of the chance of her possibly being pregnant. The child would always live in a life of danger because of the people that were currently hunting her. That was also why she was so scared to get involved with Van. She just did not want to put anyone in danger because of her.

"Fiona maybe you really should see a doctor. This could be very serious if you really are pregnant! I really think that you should talk to Van as well. He of all people deserves to know if you could possibly be carrying his child!" Moonbay said urgently.

"Moonbay you don't understand! There are people after me. If Van and I had something, then they would try to get rid of him to get to me. I don't even want to think what they would do if I really am pregnant. They might use the child to get rid of me," Fiona said walking towards the bed and sitting down.

"It is kind of too late to be thinking of that. You and Van are already involved even if you won't accept it. I also think that you probably are pregnant," Moonbay said and was about to continue when there was a knock on the door. Moonbay walked to the door and opened it to reveal Van.

Fiona immediately tried to bolt from the room but Moonbay grabbed her arm and shook her head. "Talk to him Fiona. Don't mention what we talked about until you are positive about it," Moonbay said before walking past Van and gave him a slight sympathetic look.

The door closed and the two were left alone. Van took a few steps forward towards Fiona but she just turned her back towards him. "Fiona please, look at me and talk to me," Van begged as he placed a hand on her shoulder. He felt them tense up under his touch and removed them.

"Van, why do you keep trying to talk to me? What happened that night was a mistake," Fiona said softly while looking towards the ground still refusing to look Van in the eyes.

"It doesn't have to be Fiona. You may not believe this but that night was special for me. Why do you have to keep running away from me whenever I try and talk to you about it?" Van asked and was growing aggravated when she continued to not look at him.

"What good could possibly come by being around me Van? That was shown before when you were injured that day! If we were involved, then you would end up getting killed just like in my dreams!" Fiona said finally looking up at him. She hated the look of sadness in his eyes. It made it worse that she knew that she was the cause of it.

"I want something with you Fiona! Isn't it also my choice if I want to put myself in danger for something like that?" Van asked looking Fiona straight in the eyes. "I would give up just about anything to make sure that you remain safe Fiona, because I love you," he said with all of his heart yet with a sad look on his face.

Fiona's eyes widened at his sudden proclamation of love that she was completely speechless. Of all the things that she thought would end up coming out of this conversation, this was something that was definitely what she thought.

Since he didn't receive a reply from Fiona, Van thought the worst and turned around. "You know what; just forget that I said that. Since it is obvious that you will never feel the same," he said before he walked away towards the door.

Fiona's voice was caught in her throat. She still could not say anything. She reached out to him as if to try and stop him but he was already out of her reach. She knew that she would have to make a choice or end up losing him forever. "Van," she finally managed to say.

Van stopped when he heard his name and turned around but was soon wrapped up within an embrace from Fiona. He was slightly surprised by this but he wrapped his arm around her and buried his face with her hair.

"I just can't bear the thought of you getting hurt because of me Van. I love you too; I've loved you for so long. Please forgive me for ignoring you like I have been. I was just trying to protect you," she said as a small tear fell down her face.

Van wiped away the tears from her eyes and tilted her head up and claimed her lips with his own. It was just as sweet tasting as he remembered it. He broke the kiss after a while and stared into her eyes. "Of course I do Fiona. I know I will be put in danger for it but I just can't turn away from you. I want us to be together so badly," he said tightening his hold upon Fiona's waist.

"Show me just how badly," she said reaching behind him and completely closing and locking the door so that no one could barge in there. She then kissed him hard on the lips and dragged him towards the bed.

* * *

A man sat in a seat with several dead bodies all around him. 'Damn that old woman,' he thought. Although he wasn't supposed to remember what happens, he had a few memories of what happened but nothing of particular importance. It was mainly that Fiona's mother had ruined what he tried to do. He couldn't remember anything but that.

The door to the room opened and Ryan walked into it and looked around at the dead bodies. "Having a bad day? I will just come back a little later then," he said turning around to walk out of the room but stopped when he heard the click of a gun.

Zack held the gun in the air and had it pointed directly at Ryan's head. 'All humans are worthless,' he mentally told himself but then he had another idea and lowered the gun. He would still be able to use this chance to get what he wants. He smirked and broke out into laughter.


	2. can it be

'I have never been so nervous in my entire life, except for maybe after the first night that Van and I slept together,' Fiona thought as she seemed to perform the daily ritual in the toilet that she had become accustomed to over the past few weeks. She was really starting to tire of it.

Fiona was really starting to fear that what Moonbay said was true. That she really was pregnant. Something inside of her knew that it was true. It was a voice that she tried to ignore but was still unable to.

It was kind of strange. The thought of that both pleased and also scared Fiona so greatly. Pleased her because it was made by both her and Van, and scared her because the world they live in at that moment is no place to raise a child. Its life would be in constant danger. Especially with all of the people that were after Fiona.

Moonbay walked into the room and saw Fiona in a position that she was constantly starting to find her in/ Moonbay sighed before she spoke. "Fiona, I am telling you that you really need to see a doctor. I am pretty sure I know what it is though," she said walking over to Fiona and taking a seat by her.

"Why go to something when I already know the answer to my problem. It scares me so much that I wish that it isn't what I actually think it is," Fiona said standing up from the toilet and walking out of the bathroom but not before getting a drink to get the bile taste out of her mouth.

"We can't be positive of it Fiona. Although it is the most logical guess, it is still just a guess none the less. You were sick not too long ago before it all happened, maybe it is just coming back," Moonbay said trying to ease her friend's nerves.

"No, you and I both know that it isn't that. Part of me knows it as if it was expecting it to happen. I guess that you are right though, I really should see a doctor to make sure," Fiona said standing up and walking towards the door.

A thought came to Moonbay's mind and she couldn't stop herself from asking the one question on her mind. "What if you really are? What are you going to tell Van?" Moonbay asked causing Fiona to stop in her tracks and tense up.

* * *

Fiona shook a little in fear but she managed to keep her cool. "If that is the case, then I will tell him the truth. I can't just keep running away whenever a problem happens," she said quietly before walking out of the door just wanting to get the inevitable question answered.

Fiona couldn't help but pace back and forth in her room. She had taken the test a few days ago and now had the results of it with her. She couldn't get herself to open it. Every time she tried, she would end up chickening out.

"Get a grip on yourself Fiona and just read the results," she told herself as she picked up the envelope from the bed. She dropped it a second later and began her pacing once again. 'Am I that scared of the possibility of being a mother?' she asked herself nervously.

She was shaking as she reached out and grabbed the envelope again. 'I will find out the truth,' she told herself as she carefully opened up the envelope and pulled out the small folded piece of paper that was hidden within.

Despite that fact that the results were in her hands, Fiona just couldn't bring herself to look at it. Her shaking just continued to increase as she looked at the folded piece of paper.

She took a deep breath before she started to unfold the paper. Her eyes were tightly closed by the time that it was completely open. She took in another deep breath and opened her eyes and looked over it all. It told her exactly what she had feared all along. "Oh no," Fiona said as a tear rolled down her cheek.

The door to her room opened and Van stepped into it only to have his ears assaulted with the soft noise of Fiona's crying. He immediately ran towards her and wrapped her up with his arms. "Fiona, what's wrong?" he asked in a soft tone as she shook within his arms.

Fiona looked up into Van's dark eyes and this only made her start to cry even more than she already was. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," she continued to cry into his chest while her arms wrapped around him to keep him close to her.

Van was really starting to worry now. He had no idea what Fiona had done wrong and yet she was saying sorry to him. "What's going on Fiona? Why are you saying sorry when you have done nothing wrong?" Van asked trying to keep his worried voice calm.

Fiona looked up into Van's worried eyes again and continued to cry into his shirt, "I'm sorry, I swear that I did not mean for it to happen," she said with the results laying forgotten right beside her. She noticed that Van didn't even seem to notice.

Van took a hold of Fiona by her shoulders and pushed her away just enough so that he could look clearly into her eyes. "What are you sorry about Fiona? You just keep saying sorry and I do not know what is going on," Van said looking at Fiona with his hurt eyes since she wasn't telling him what was going on.

Fiona moved out of his grasp and just stared at the floor. She reached out and grabbed a hold of Van's hand and brought it towards her putting it upon her stomach. She saw his eyes widen a bit as if realizing something. "I'm pregnant Van," she said looking him in the eye but she only received a shocked look in return. "I didn't mean for it to happen but it happened anyways," she said sadly.

Van just couldn't seem to find any words to say what was on his mind. 'Fiona's pregnant with my child? My child?' he said over and over in his head. "A-are you sure Fiona?" he asked and she nodded her head. "We're going to be parents?" he asked and she nodded her head again.

"Yes, we are. It may be dangerous to bring a child into this sort of world but I am not going to get rid of it," Fiona said and smiled slightly when Van nodded his head. "What are we going to do Van?" she asked softly as she leaned her head into his chest again.

Van didn't even wait until he answered the question. He smiled brightly before he started to speak. "That is easy. We will have the child and then raise it together. I can't believe that I am going to be a father," he said looking as happy as she had ever seen him before. "I know it is dangerous but I know we can do this together Fiona," he said holding her tightly to him.

"I can tell that you will make a great father Van. I just hope that I will be able to make a good mother to this child, our child," she said although she had this feeling like she knew what it would be like already.

Van smiled down at her with pride on his face. "I know you will make a great mother. It may just be a feeling but I know that it is right. I don't know what you are supposed to do because I have never had a mother to watch as I grew up. I know that you will be there for the child though," he said lightly stroking his fingers through her hair.

The way that Van spoke of his mother brought questions to Fiona's mind. "What happened to her Van? I know that your father is dead but what ever happened to your mother?" she asked and watched as pain flashed through his eyes.

"She died giving birth to me. I never had a chance to meet her, to know what she was like. Maria was lucky to be born first, to actually know our mother. I was only raised by Maria and my father up until the time of his death," he said in a quiet voice.

Fiona looked at Van with sympathy and rubbed his shoulders. "I'm sorry to hear that Van. I wish that she had lived. I would want to meet the woman that gave birth to a great person like you," she said softly kissing him on the cheek.

Van smiled for a second before it faded. "When I was younger, I would always hear my dad calling out my mothers name in his sleep from my room. It would always make me feel guilty, like I was the reason that he lost her. I always blamed myself. One day my father told me that stuff like that happens and that we should always make the best of what we are given. I intend to do that for this kid. I will not leave it with only one parent. We will raise this kid together and never regret anything. I will make this world a safe place for us to raise it. I will put an end to all the fighting," she said before kissing her full yon the mouth.

Fiona moaned into the kiss before he pulled away. "That sounds great. I guess all the worrying that I was doing was for nothing. I was worried about not being a good mother when you never had one. I will be there for our child and be the best mother that I can," she said resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes. She felt tired from all her worrying and felt herself drifting off to sleep.

'That is all that you need to do Fiona,' he thought happily when he heard her breathing even out as she fell asleep on his shoulder. He carefully laid her on the bed and joined her by wrapping his arms around her waist and falling asleep right beside her.

* * *

Zack sat down in a giant chair behind a desk. He was deep in thought, mostly about Fiona. His few memories he had from before Amber's meddling were going through his head. It wasn't enough to tell him anything but he remembered the child of Van and Fiona's.

'I must put an end to that. There is something about that child that I can't quite remember. If I can get rid of it or stop it from be conceived then there won't be a link between the two of them,' he thought angrily as he slammed his fist down on the desk.

Ryan walked into the room with a grouchy look on his face. He had been that way since his leader had told him that they were abandoning the original plan. He said that he knew it was going to fail so they were doing something else. Ryan had no idea what was going on through his leaders mind.

Zack suddenly stood up from his seat with a wide smirk on his face. "I just had an idea and I need your help," he said with a smirk. 'Even if you are nothing but a worthless human,' he thought still grinning.

Ryan merely bowed in respect. "Of course sir, just tell me what it is that you need to have done and I will do it," Ryan said and when he stood up straight, a disk was thrown at him and he caught it with ease. "What is this sir?" he asked staring at the disk hoping to find some answers on it.

"Use the information that I have put on that disk to create a fake file. I am going to try and infiltrate the guardian force by becoming one of its members. What better way to get to Van Flyheight?" he asked although that wasn't what he had in mind. It was probable that none of the guardian force remembered him, meaning that he could get close to Fiona and try to get her to come with him.

"Smart idea, destroying the guardian force from the inside. No one would suspect one of its own members to do something like that. I will get right on it sir," he said before turning and walking out of the room. Something about Zack scared him now. He suddenly changed a few days before then and it made even Ryan nervous.

Zack stood up from his seat and crossed the room towards a hidden door that not even Ryan knew of. Even before his original plan failed, he had been doing a great deal of research into the ultimate power of the zoidians. It was a side quest to his original plan and they were supposed to converge at some point.

His plan had failed from what he remembered and so this was all that he could do for now. He knew that if he could get Fiona on his side that he could pull off something even greater. He could take back the planet from the humans that plagued it. Him the king and, and Fiona the queen at his side.

The child still worried him and he knew that there was something important to remember. He just hoped that it wasn't too late and that it had already come back into this world. 'Wait a minute. Even if it did it would still only be a baby and easy to take care of. Then again, if I did anything then Fiona would hate me for it,' he thought trying to find some answers to his dilemma.

"I hate it because of the fact that it is the child of Flyheight but I might be able to do something about that. What if I was to turn it into my own? Definitely a difficult task but I know just the way to do it. I need to get Fiona to pull it off. I need to get her to trust me though, and to turn all of her love for Flyheight into hate under her own will," he said to himself as he turned on a computer.

He stood up again after a second thought and turned off the computer. He walked across the room where there were several different chemicals all around it. 'Now, how did it go again?' he asked himself before the thought came to his mind and he set to work on it.

He worked for hours at a time. Barely taking any sort of break. Mixing different chemicals together and dumping the failures out. He knew that this was probably his only chance to get what he wanted before they realize who he is.

"Ah-ha!" he yelled in success as he held a small vile into the air and examined the dark blue liquid inside. "I have done it but that was only the easy part. Now comes the much more difficult part. I don't accept failure. So I know that it will be a success in the end," he said before laughing like the maniac that he was.


	3. new guardians

Fiona couldn't help but giggle at what Van was doing. H had his head up against her stomach as if trying to hear anything. "I think it is a little early to hear or feel anything from the baby Van," she said with a laugh.

Van had a disappointed look on his face as he pulled away. "I can't wait for it to be born. I guess I am just getting a little overexcited," Van said laying next to her and putting his arm around her shoulder.

Fiona couldn't help the giggles that erupted from her throat. "I am barely a month and half into this Van. We still have seven and a half months left before this little one is born," she said placing her hand on her stomach. "We will have to think of something though, I don't think a military base was meant for a daycare," she said in a thoughtful way.

"Crougar and I have been trying to come up with a solution for that. For the time being we have to keep you here since those people are after you. We plan to secretly send you into hiding once the baby is born. It is probably the safest thing to do. Plus I will be your bodyguard in that time," he said in a proud way. He was not going to accept that sort of thing unless he could be around Fiona while it happened.

Fiona absolutely loved the thought of it. The baby and her would always be protected from those that meant to hurt them. "If that is the case then I am sure that this little guy will be fine," she said in a dreamy way.

One of Van's eyebrows rose in question. "Are you so sure that it will be a boy. I have a feeling that it will be a girl. One that will have the beauty and grace of her mother," he said and smiled when he saw Fiona blush slightly.

"I think you are right. This feeling I have makes me think that too now. I can almost picture her. A girl that has my hair but your eyes and playfulness. Almost a perfect mixture of the two of us. I hope that she does end up that way," Fiona said with a smile as she kissed Van on the cheek.

"Yeah, that sounds like what I can think of as well. I hope it turns out that way most. I will love it no matter what it turns out to be like. As long as it is ours then it could be horribly disfigured and I wouldn't love it any less," he said with a smile as he pulled Fiona close to him.

Van suddenly stood up as he remembered something that he had to do. He hoped that he wasn't too late for it. "I have to go see Crougar really quickly. He said that there was something important that he had to announce," he said and Fiona only nodded her head before he rushed out of the room.

Van rushed into the hanger and snuck into a small line that consisted of Irvine, him, and Thomas plus one or two other guardian force members just as Crougar came driving into the hanger with more people than he had when he left.

The car came to a stop and Crougar plus two other people stepped out of the car. Crougar inspected those that were there. "At ease men," he said and they relaxed a little. "As of today, we have two new members of the guardian force. Both are very skilled pilots so be sure to give them the respect you would give to any of your other teammates," Crougar said and then turned towards the two people with him.

A young female who looked like she was only about Van's age stepped forward and saluted to the. "Lieutenant Ashley Hawk. Pleasure to meet you all," she said with a smile that caught the attention of several men in the room. Many of whom were drooling at the sight of her.

Van couldn't help but notice that Thomas seemed really interested in the new girl. 'Good, maybe now he will stop pining over Fiona,' Van thought with a grin knowing he would have her all to himself. He didn't care about her though. He had his own beauty. In Van's mind this new girl paled in comparison to Fiona.

The second of the two people stepped forward and shivers ran through everyone's spine. There was something about him that no one seemed to trust. Van had it worse than anyone else. "My name is Zack. I was a lieutenant in the imperial army until I was assigned to guardian force," he lied since he had made it all up.

"You are all dismissed," Crougar said once the introductions were all finished. He turned around as a man came up to him with papers that needed looking over. When the man left, he noticed that the new guy was standing by waiting to talk to him. "Yes? Can I help you with something?" Crougar barely looking up from the papers he was reading.

"I am not fully aware of some of the ways that the guardian force is run around here, I was wondering if maybe you could give me some information about it," he said although he didn't really care about it all. He could easily destroy the guardian force when he wanted. Soon there would be none left and he would have no need to know these things.

Crougar sighed as he put down the papers. "If you are looking for answers then it would be wise to talk to Van Flyheight. He is the leader for your group. I am a bit busy now," he said before nodding his head at Zack and then walked away from him with his face in the papers once again.

'No need to do that old man. I just said that to make it look like I cared,' he thought with a smirk as he walked down the halls with only one real goal in mind. The reason that he was really here, Fiona.

* * *

"Come on Fiona, you have to eat," Van insisted as he pushed some food towards Fiona. They were in the cafeteria yet Fiona kept saying that she wasn't hungry. "Van was disappointed when she pushed it back. "Oh come on. You need to eat something it isn't healthy for you or the baby if you don't," he said although he was smiling the whole.

Fiona groaned in frustration. She loved Van with all of her heart but this was a little annoying. "I'll be fine Van. I am just not up for eating this… stuff," she said taking a spoonful of the strange stuff they called food.

Van took the spoon and looked at it as well. He even sniffed it before making a disgusted face. "Ok then. I think even I have lost my appetite," he said making Fiona laugh. Both stood up and after disposing of the strange food, they walked out just as the new recruit walked in.

Fiona didn't know why but she felt eyes on her. It made her feel uncomfortable and she showed it by fidgeting around a little. Something inside of her told her that she be very cautious at that moment.

"Van Flyheight?" Zack asked as if he didn't already know who he was. It disgusted him that he had to actually be nice to Van right then. When he saw Van nod, he continued. "I was just wondering if you could inform me about all that we are going to be doing. Crougar told me to ask you," he said holding back the scowl he had when he saw Van and Fiona's attached hands.

"Um… I guess so. Is that ok with you Fiona?" he asked and she just nodded because she knew that it was his job. "You should go find something decent to eat. I will meet up with you after I am finished," he said with a smile as he turned towards the man who continued to give him the creeps.

"Nonsense. Why doesn't she just come with us? A lovely lady such as this shouldn't be alone," he said grabbing her hand and kissing the back of it. He was disappointed when she just put it away. "What do you say?" he asked Fiona. 'Hey if I can't get her by being myself. I will just put this act on for a while and then she will just come crawling to me,' he thought with a smirk.

"I really have some things to do," Fiona said trying to put on a smile. She made to leave but the man grabbed her arm causing her to stop. She saw his 'I-insist' face and looked towards Van. "Fiona," she said walking towards him and staying by his side. She just couldn't shake her bad feelings about this guy.

"What we do is pretty basic. We aren't really part of either military since we work for both sides. When needed, we are dispatched to different areas when conflicts arise. We are to find the best ways to solve the conflicts," Van said as they walked through the halls and he showed the man all the different areas of the base.

"I see," Zack said although he really didn't give a care. He kept looking at Fiona and smirked at how close he was to her right then. "Is that all that we do. It seems awfully easy," Zack muttered as he continued to stare at Fiona's back.

"There are many other things. We not only protect the towns but wherever it is needed. Bases, ruin, and all other places like that. We protect the peace that we obtained after the war at any costs," Van said not even looking at the man.

Zack was about to respond when the intercom went on. It was silent for a few seconds before the voice of Crougar was heard over it. "Van Flyheight, I need to see you immediately," Crougar's voice said before it was cut off leaving a confused Van standing there wondering what was happening.

Van nodded his head after a few seconds and turned towards Zack. "This will have to wait till later," he said before him and Fiona walked away. "Actually, you might want to come along. This will give you a much better understanding of our orders," he said as a second thought.

Van walked into the command room and saw Crougar and Irvine already standing there. "Good, you are here Van. There is something that I need you and the new guy to check out. It should be simple so it will be good to help break him in," Crougar said turning towards a screen.

A diagram popped up on the screen showing a map of an area about fifty miles from there. "Recently there has been a report of a genosaurer type zoid attacking villages as of late. It doesn't appear to have any pilot so it is still unknown why it is attacking. I want you to go and capture the zoids and bring it back so we can run some tests on it. We have already sent a few soldiers and although they have failed they did manage to disable its charged particle beam so you should worry about that," Crougar said as a picture of the zoid popped up.

Van stared at the picture of a zoid that looked like a genosaurer but there was something different about it. "So you just want me to capture it?" Van asked although he didn't really know why.

"Yes, try to capture it without doing too much damage to the zoid. It appears to be a new type of zoid so we figured we might be able to get good data off of it. Dr. D seemed to be ecstatic about the research her could do," Crougar said turning the screen off. "Moonbay will accompany you to help you transport it back. You are dismissed," Crougar said as Van saluted and Zack did a very weak one.

Van saluted before he turned around and walked towards the hanger with Zack close behind him. Fiona walked by his side as if she wanted to go with him. "You need to stay here Fiona. I am not going to put you in danger in your current state. I am not going to put you and our child in danger," he said softly to her.

"I don't want to remain here while you go out there Van. Let me go with you please," Fiona begged since before then the two of them always worked together on this. She saw Van shake his head and frowned. "Then let me go with Moonbay. She will remain out of the way and only help with loading," Fiona said practically begging Van.

Van was about to say no when Moonbay came walking up to them. "Sure thing Fiona, I can use the company. Don't worry about her Van. I will personally ensure her safety. No harm will ever come to her or the baby," Moonbay said grabbing Fiona's arm and dragging her towards the gustav.

Van groaned because he did not want Fiona to be getting into this sort of mess anymore. He knew it would be a lot more dangerous with her now that she was pregnant. He didn't know what he would do if her or the baby got hurt. He knew it would be pointless to argue with Moonbay though so he just walked to the blade liger.

Zack was furious because he was sure that it was too late to stop the baby's conception. That was why he had the backup plan that he brought with him. It would require that he got rid of Van and got Fiona to love him. He knew of the perfect way to do it.

* * *

Van stared out into the open desert searching for their target. "hey Moonbay, are you sure that this is the last place that it was sighted? I can't see anything around. It has probably moved on by now," Van said as he looked harder.

"Positive. A nearby village reported spotting it less than thirty minutes ago. Even if it did run away, it can't have gone too far. We just need to expand our search radius and we will find it," Moonbay said typing some things into her gustav. 'Wait a minute!' she said while she looked at the computer. "To your right Van!" Moonbay yelled.

Van jumped out of the way at just the nick of time as a claw was sent flying right past the cockpit of his zoid. "get out of here now Moonbay, protect Fiona like you said!" Van yelled as he charged at the zoid with Zack and his black leoblaze at his side.

Moonbay immediately got out of there as Fiona looked through the data they were able to obtain in that short time about the zoid. She wanted to be helpful and find any sort of weakness that she could about the zoid. "Van, there appears to be a few problems with it right leg. That should be where you need to attack," Fiona said to Van hoping he would hear through the fight.

"Ok, I got it Fiona," Van said pulling out his blades and charging right past the leoblaze who didn't even look like he was trying to fight at full strength. Van was suddenly thrown back when the zoid swung its tail hitting him hard. He got back up and saw that Zack was in a struggling match with the zoid.

The guns on the blade liger came out and Van took target of the zoids right leg. He noticed it sparking a little and knew that Fiona was correct about it. "Zack! Move out of the way!" Van yelled but the man didn't listen to him as he was pushed back a little. "Move it! I have a good shot!" Van yelled but the man still didn't listen to him.

"Damn it!" Van yelled putting his guns away and his blades out. He charged at the zoid as Zack continued his struggle. "Move it!" Van yelled as he neared. He swore that if the guy didn't move that Van would just run him through as well. He knew that the struggling was pointless because no damage was being done.

'As you wish,' Zack thought with a sneer as he let go of the zoid at the last minute. He watched in amusement as Van was taken by surprise when the zoid fired off its guns at point blank range blasting off one of the legs of the blade liger.

Van hit his head hard on the control of the blade liger as it was sent flying back. It hit the ground hard causing the canopy to smash open sending and unconscious Van to go flying out of the cockpit much to the horror of the two who were in the gustav.


	4. doctors

Van's eyes shot open and his sat up in bed really quickly only to have pain shoot through his head and cause him to fall back down onto the soft mattress beneath him. 'Wait! Mattress? Wasn't I just in a battle?' Van asked himself as he tried to sit up a little slower this time.

"Van, please lay down," Fiona's soft voice said as she placed a hand on his shoulder and pushed him down onto the mattress again. "You went through quite a lot. You really should rest," Fiona said as she looked at him.

It was then that Van noticed that he was wrapped in bandages not only on his head but on his chest as well. "What happened? Why am I in so much pain?" Van asked as he turned his head to look at Fiona who was sitting in a chair by his bed.

Fiona frowned as she stared at Van. The memory of the event wasn't very good to her. "You were thrown out of your blade liger in that battle. The mission was a success thanks to Zack but you were injured in the process. Zack is taking all the credit for it," Fiona said as she tightened one of the bandages that were on Van.

Van was refrained from speaking when the door opened up and Crougar came walking into the room with a serious face Zack followed shortly behind him with a smug look on his face. "Good, I see that you've regained consciousness," Crougar said as he walked to the side of Van's bed. "Van I want to talk to you about your performance in the last battle," Crougar said confusion both Van and Fiona.

"What do you mean?" Van asked weakly as he sat up against the back of the bed with a little help from Fiona. His ribs were killing him and his head was aching badly but he gave Crougar all of his attention.

"Your behavior during the mission was very unprofessional Van," Crougar said with a stern face. "According to the lieutenant here, you did hardly any work and left everything up to him. Is this true? He also said that you nearly ran him through with your blades," Crougar said in a disappointed voice.

"Not completely. I had a few shots that I couldn't get in because he wouldn't move out of the way no matter how much I told him to move. Even when I started to take out my blades I kept telling him to get out of the way so I can finish it off he didn't move until the last second. With the zoid free it fired at me and now I am here," Van said rubbing his head.

"You never told me to move. I was barely able to move as you came towards me with the blades," Zack lied in a very convincing way. "I was just trying to make sure that I didn't get run through by those blades as well," Zack said keeping a serious face although he was smirking on the inside.

Crougar was unsure of what to believe. He knew that Van wouldn't intentionally lie but the service record of the new guy was nearly flawless. He followed every command that was given to him perfectly. "We'll talk about what happened later. You really need to rest Van. The blade liger will be repaired by the time that you get better. Fiona, may I please speak to you for a second?" Crougar asked before turning towards the door.

Fiona nodded and reluctantly stood up and left Van's side to have the talk with Crougar. "You wanted to talk to me sir?" Fiona asked outside the room where they were out of hearing range of both pilots since Zack had long since left.

Crougar looked around and made sure that no one was around before he spoke. He didn't want anyone to try and change her confession about what really happened. "Yes, I would like to hear what you saw in the battle while you were out there. I know Van isn't a deceitful person but I must follow protocol," Crougar said staring down at the young woman before him.

"I may love Van but I can't lie about this. Neither Moonbay nor I know what actually happened. We could see what was happening but we couldn't hear anything. Both stories seemed to fit into what we saw. I know that Van wouldn't lie though. There is something about that other guy that I don't trust though," Fiona said looking towards the ground upset that she really couldn't help Van.

"I thank you for being honest Fiona. We are trying to get any data from the two zoids that might solve this problem but we are having a few set backs. It could have just been communication problems. We should find out when the analyzing is complete," Crougar said before he nodded towards her and left.

Fiona let of a sigh before she leaned against the wall next to her. She could hear his approach but she didn't acknowledge it until he was standing before her. "What do you want?" Fiona asked Zack since it was obvious that he wanted to talk to her. She just couldn't get over her misgivings about him.

"No need to be so harsh with me. I merely told it how it happened. I have no reason to lie about any of it," Zack said looking at her beauty. She may be pregnant with Van's child but he felt that that was not how it was going to turn out as long as he continued with what he was doing.

"Van had no reason to lie about it as well," Fiona said crossing her arms over her chest and looking away from the man as he continued to try and get her attention. "If that is all that you wanted to say then I have to get going?" Fiona said since she offered to do what she was able to do to help repair the blade liger.

"Why are you with someone as irresponsible as that Fiona? The guy nearly got me killed and you are standing up for him. He is probably just trying to make himself look good. I had the zoid where I wanted him and then he suddenly just comes charging in ready to slice me in half as well as the zoid," Zack said as he watched her move.

When he saw that Fiona wasn't going to respond to him, he ran after her. "How about I take you out to eat someplace Fiona?" he said completely changing the subject they were talking about earlier. "I can take you someplace with good food unlike the horrible food they serve here," Zack said with a smile.

Fiona snatched her arm away from him and continued walking. "I'm busy. Plus I already have a boyfriend. I am having his child and I am happy about it," Fiona said before she turned a corner and was glad when he didn't follow her.

Zack was absolutely fuming at Fiona's declaration. 'You are wrong Fiona. I will make it so that you want nothing to do with him anymore. You will be mine soon enough,' he thought before he turned around quickly and stormed down the halls in the direction of his room.

* * *

Crougar walked into the hanger and took a look at the legless blade liger which had several people working to get it fixed up. Dr. D was the one who was leading them all in not only repairing but also upgrading it to the best of his abilities.

Crougar walked up to the older man. "Excuse me Dr. D. I was wondering if you had the data to the blade liger that I requested that you obtain earlier. The one about the battle that put the blade liger in the shape that it is currently in," Crougar said staring at the beat up blade liger. Only its canopy had been repaired but it still had a lot of work left to be done before it could be used again.

Dr. D looked at the blade liger as well. "The blade liger is a mess right now. Some of the data that it had has probably been damaged so I can't assure you anything. We might be able to get older data back but I am not sure if what you're looking for is still there," Dr. D said with a sigh as he turned his attention towards Crougar.

"I see. Unfortunately we can't use the data from the leoblaze because it could have been changed. Nobody but Van and Fiona have access to it to change it and neither of them really had any chance to. If that data is lost, then we will probably have no way of finding out who actually told the truth," Crougar said growing aggravated at the situation.

"If you want my opinion, it was probably the new guy. Van has no reason to act the way that he claimed that Van did. Why don't you just drop it for now and see if anything like this happens again, then you know something has to be happening with either of them," Dr. D said before walking away yelling at a worker for doing something wrong.

Crougar knew that Dr. D was right. He didn't have anything to go on for now so he knew he should just watch the two of them closely. One of them was lying and to lie about something as serious as this will get one of them in trouble.

Zack was smirking from not too far away. He may have not gotten the results that he was looking for but he was sure that they would be watching the two of them carefully. He just had to make sure that he was careful not to do anything that would get him caught and yet still make Van look bad.

* * *

Van felt like he had to have been in that hospital wing for at least a week. His headache was gone but his ribs were still killing him. He was walking around on crutches since it hurt too much to stand on his own.

He was glad about one thing. At least he had some good company in the form of his lovely girlfriend Fiona. She stayed by his side the entire week and for that he was eternally grateful. There wasn't much she could do anyways because of her condition.

Van stood in the back of a room as Crougar talked about a mission that he was sending some people on. He knew he couldn't go on it but he was there anyways because it was his duty as a member of the guardian force.

Van couldn't help but let his mind wonder to may things that were happening. Most of which included the new guardian force member. He couldn't help but have his doubts about him. It wasn't just what happened in that battle but according to Fiona, he had been constantly trying to ask her out even though she had told him that she was pregnant.

He was also not sure why the guy had lied about what had happened. 'Could it have been that there were communications problems or was it just that Zack didn't feel like listening to his orders.

Van also had to wonder how that zoid had managed to damage the blade liger with on shot of its guns in such an awful way. No regular gun should have been able to do that much damage. He knew the limits of the blade liger and knew that a zoid couldn't do that much damage with just a regular standard gun on a zoid. It made him curious as to what the zoid actually had.

According to what he had heard. Zack had to basically destroy all of the weapons on the zoid before he was finally able to stop it. That meant that Van wouldn't be able to find out what type of gun it was that the zoid had. They were all badly damaged beyond repair. The zoid could but not the weapons.

It wasn't long before Crougar let them all go and Van found himself in the hanger staring up t his trusted zoid. The leg had been reattached but there were some fine tuning that needed to be done before it would be useable again.

Van heard footsteps approach him but he knew who it was so he didn't move. He sighed in contentment as he felt Fiona's arms wrap around his waist and felt her bury his head in his back. That was the type of thing he wanted to feel the rest of his life and he intended to make sure that that would happen.

"What are you doing here Van? Even if the blade liger was completely fixed, you wouldn't be able to use it anyways," Fiona said softly as she clutched onto Van. "Hey, I have an idea. Why don't we head into town? We have never really been on any dates as a real couple. There was that one but we weren't a couple then," Fiona said with a smile as she let go and walked to Van's side.

Van turned his heads towards Fiona and smiled down at her. "God I wish that I could tonight Fiona. Unfortunately the doctors want me to come in for a check up. I would ditch it if I could but I have a feeling that they would find me anyways," he said causing her to laugh. "I hate doctors and hospitals. They always give me the creeps," Van said leaning against the banister of the hanger since he was on an upper floor.

Van started to laugh again at Van. No matter what he does, he always remained true to himself. "Well if it will get you better, then I insist that you go and do that. I wouldn't want you getting injured again because something happened to you," she said with a bright smile as she kissed his cheek and grabbed his hand. "I will even walk you there," she said pulling him in the direction of the medical wing.

Van struggled a bit but found that he couldn't escape Fiona because he was still too weak from his injuries. "Oh come on Fiona. I had a change of mind. I really don't want to go. Let them come find me. Let's go out," Van said with a nervous chuckle at the thought of what they did there.

"No. This will help you get better so I am not letting you get away before you are completely healthy," Fiona said with a smile. She was definitely enjoying this for how he was trying to shove that horrible cafeteria food down her throat the other week.

"Please… Oh have a heart," Van begged as he was dragged into the room and thrown onto the bed. His ribs hurt so much that he was unable to put up a proper struggle against Fiona. She had the upper hand in the argument and what made it worse was that she knew it.

"No way, I am not going to leave this baby fatherless because he was reckless and fought while he was still injured. I just don't know what I would do if that ever happened," she said giving her saddest puppy dogface knowing that Van would have trouble with it.

Van let off a groan at the sight of that face. "Fine," he grumbled at as he crossed his legs on the bed and folded his arms over his chest. He saw the door open and the doctor come walking in holding a tray that looked like it had… Needles! "Oh wait! I changed my mind! I got to go!" Van yelled making a dash for the door but was caught by the doctor who threw him against the bed.

"Chill out captain Flyheight. These aren't for you. I just have another appointment after you that I need these for," the doctor said with a sigh as he pushed his glasses up onto his face. "Amazing. I get all of these powerful warriors to come in and yet they all cower away at the sight of a small needle," he grumbled to himself.

The doctor looked at a chart and then looked at his patient. He then noticed the person next to him. "Oh Miss Lynette," he said surprised to see her but thankful at the same time. "Just the person I wanted to see. You too need a checkup for your baby. A few blood tests in fact just to make sure the baby will be healthy when it is born," he said watching Fiona's eyes widen.

Van grinned before catching Fiona before she dashed out the door. "Oh no you don't. I don't want anything to happen to you or the baby," he said turning her words from a minute before right against her. "I insist you go through this," he said with a grin at the glare that Fiona gave him in her defeated state.

The doctor looked between Van and Fiona and couldn't help but laugh. The two of them were perfect for each other. He had seen several pregnant women and their husbands before he started working for the military. These two put them all to shame because of the obvious love that could practically be seen around them.

"I am going to kill you when I get out of here Van," Fiona said in an angry posture although it didn't look like she was angry or sincere. She never could be angry at Van for very long. She was annoyed that now he was throwing everything she said against her.

"But I thought you said that you didn't want to leave the baby fatherless," he said with a smirk as he saw the annoyed look on Fiona's face. "However… ouch!" Van yelled when he felt the needle he wasn't supposed to get go into his arm. "Laugh it up!" Van said at the laughing Fiona. "I thought I wasn't supposed to get a shot!" Van yelled at the doctor.

"Did I say that?" he asked innocently. In truth he just told Van that to calm him down and then he planned to do that when Van was distracted. He was able to go unnoticed up until the actual shot.

Fiona was laughing hard until the exact same thing happened to her. "Ouch!" she yelled this time it was Van laughing. "Hmph," Fiona said crossing her arms over her chest and refusing to look at Van. It didn't help when they both broke out in laughter as the doctor left the room. "We're weird, aren't we?" Fiona asked and Van nodded his head. "I wouldn't have you any other way though," she said with a smile as she kissed his cheek.


	5. Ashley

"Something about all of this just doesn't feel right. Both the communication systems on the zoids were operating just fine. That can only mean that Van either actually didn't say anything or Zack intentionally did it to get Van hurt," Crougar said looking over the files on both the Blade liger and the leoblaze.

"Yeah but how much can you actually say you about this guy?" Thomas asked walking into the room only to hear what Crougar was talking about. "I know of every military personnel who has ever made any impact on things but I have never heard of this guy Zack," he admitted taking a seat in a chair.

"His files have been kept well secret up till now for some reason. I have even called up people from where he was from and they gave me a report about him. He has never had so much as a misdemeanor against him," Crougar said putting down the files Dr. D gave him.

"I stick with the fact that I don't trust the guy. There is something about him that is suspicious. Why would his records need to be hidden anyways?" Thomas asked and Crougar just shrugged his should while wondering the same thing as well. "Anyways, you wanted to see me sir?" Thomas asked sitting up straight in his chair.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I need you to take that other new recruit of ours out for some training. I figure that you are the best to ask since Van is still recovering, and Irvine is out. Think you can do that. We need to get a bit of information from her zoid for research," Crougar said folding his hand in front of him.

"Sure as long as there isn't a repeat of what happened to Van," Thomas said scratching his head. He had a feeling that he could trust the woman though. From what he had seen, she was a very caring individual. She was very similar to Fiona and yet very different at the same time.

"Ok then, better get suited up," Crougar said standing up as well as Thomas. He saw Thomas salute to him. "Dismissed," Crougar said and Thomas left the room. Crougar just watched him leave without another word.

When he was gone Crougar fell back into his chair with a loud groan. He hoped that this test went a lot better than the one with Van and Zack. It had been a while and he was still trying to get everything sorted out. He didn't even know what happened or who caused it. 'I really need a break,' he thought rubbing his head.

* * *

"So what is it that we have to do again?" Ashley asked looking over the empty desert terrain. "It doesn't really look like there is anything out here," she said looking for target ranges or anything of the sort. There was none as she did a quick flyby of the area.

"There will be shortly. You are going to go through some test so that we can get some data on your storm sworder," Thomas said typing some things into Beak. He grew frustrated though. "Damn it Beak, give me some help!" Thomas yelled frustrated but sighed when everything started to be completed much faster than he could do it himself. He just wanted to get back then.

"Yeah, I know that part already but you have yet to mention what I have to do," she said in a dull voice. "Oh wait. I see what you are doing. There is nothing out here and you just wanted to get me alone. How sweet," she said giggling.

Thomas couldn't help but gap at her accusation. "O-of course not. M-my heart belongs to Fiona. And I hope that someday she will see that," Thomas said although at this point he knew that would be physically impossible.

"Funny… She seems awfully into Van Flyheight. Hell, she is carrying his child. Maybe you should just give up on that hope," Ashley said with a chuckle as she waited for anything. "Now where is this damn thing I am supposed to go through?" she said growing frustrated just flying in circles.

"In a few moments several zoids will be released. Do whatever you can to at least come out of it. Everyone has to go through this. Don't mind if you don't accomplish it on the first time either. Not many do," he said finished typing and it would only take one button to get it started.

"Yeah well I don't accept defeat. It has to be the worst thing on the planet. I will finish this without even getting hit. Bet no one has been able to do that before," she said in a playfully arrogant voice.

"Actually I think Van has done that several times. It pisses me off when he rubs it in my face. Not literally. But he just seems to do it mentally whenever he manages to pull it off. Anyways, I am just going to give you a bit of backup incase something goes wrong during the tests," Thomas said pulling his Dibison back a bit. "Here they come," he said as several chambers opened up and zoid after zoid fell out of them.

Ashley looked around her and her jaw fell open. "Oooookay. Maybe this won't be as easy as I thought. How the hell could he have accomplished it without being hit?" she asked herself as shelling started to fly at her.

She managed to dodge most of it but only after she got hit in the wing slightly. Damn it! What the hell was I thinking?" she asked herself angrily as she soared through several zoids at top speed knocking several of them over. Then taking out her blades and slicing through several command wolves.

Thomas watched her rather impressed with her skills. He hadn't really seen many female guardian force members before now except for Fiona and Fiona didn't even really pilot a zoid unless it was completely necessary for her to do so. Ashley seemed to have a very natural skill. He didn't expect her to last as long as she was.

It came out of nowhere, a shot rung out and slammed into the wing of the storm sworder. With a slight scream from Ashley, and the storm sworder plummeted to the ground but thanks to the sand underneath, it cushioned the fall and the zoid just skidded on the ground until it came to a stop.

Ashley groaned and rubbed her head after it was over. "Damn it. I don't know how that guy could have possibly have done it without getting hit,' he thought as she opened the canopy and got out.

Thomas was very impressed with the woman's skills. It took him a lot of tries to just get to this part of it. He was more impressed that she was still up after the fall that she just took. 'I have to admit it, she's good,' he thought jumping out of the dibison and running over to the woman. "Not bad," he said with a smile.

"Damn it! It isn't good enough though. I wanted to finish it!" she said angrily. She suddenly put on a smile and looked up at Thomas. "So tell me. Besides that, how did I do?" she asked with a grin.

Thomas was perplexed by her sudden change in emotion but just shrugged it off. "Pretty good for a newbie. Don't worry about finishing it. Van and Irvine are the only ones that have an easy time with it. You did better than most who have tried. Just give it time," he said with a smile. "Come on. We should get back," he said and she just nodded at him.

Ashley ran up and walked next to him back to a gustav. "So tell me, when did you finish it?" she asked with a smile curious to know how long it takes an experienced guardian force pilot to have completed it.

Thomas stopped suddenly and he saw her turn to look at him with inquisitive eyes. He scratched the back of his head and the pretended to cough. "I… um… I'll tell you when I finish it," he said suddenly feeling very self-conscious about the subject of his piloting skills.

Ashley stared at him for a few seconds as all that he said registered in her mind before her jaw dropped to the ground. She suddenly ran up and got into his face. "Now wait a minute. You're a guardian force pilot and you've never finished this? How many have finished it?" she asked stunned by this revelation.

"Um… two that I know of," he said chuckling nervously as a sweat drop formed at his head. "I've gotten close to finishing it but the speed of the dibison isn't fast enough to keep up with all the zoids. I can take down multiple enemies but it can also leave me open to an attack afterwards," he told her the truth much to his displeasure. His zoid was a heavy weight zoid and was slower than most.

Ashley gave him a look of pity. "That's sad. I thought someone like you would have been able to finish it by now," she said as they loaded up her zoid onto the transport vehicle. She frowned at the sight of her damaged zoid.

When the zoid was loaded, the two of them jumped into the cockpit of the gustav and started to head back to the base. It was silent for the first two minutes of the ride but Ashley kept looking towards Thomas.

Finally she just couldn't take the silence much longer. "I can't take this silence!" she yelled grabbing her own hair. Suddenly she was so calm and she smiled at him. "Let's talk about something," she said brightly.

Thomas was stunned by her sudden change in mood. 'Are all women like this? Fiona's been like that a lot lately as well,' he thought before shaking his head. "Sure, what do you want to talk about?" he asked her keeping his eyes ahead of them.

Ashley thought for a second before she smiled. "Why exactly did you join the guardian force? You just don't seem like the fighting type. You seem like the type who likes working on zoids rather than piloting them against an enemy," she said from what she's seen of him.

Thomas looked at her in shock. No one had ever asked him that sort of question. He was actually kind of grateful that she did. People complained but never asked why he was there. "It's because of my family," he said quietly turning his head back ahead of him.

Ashley looked at him thoughtfully waiting for him to continue but he didn't seem to want to so she did it for him. "Because of your family? Why would you join just because of your family?" she asked him watching him carefully.

"Many generations of my family has been in the empire's military. I was always looked down upon. I was always compared to how great my older brother was. If I did something good, it would be compared to him doing it even better. He's a colonel in the imperial army and I'm just a lieutenant. When they offered me a position in the guardian force, I just couldn't refuse, I thought it was my time to show everyone that I was my own person and not just Karl's brother," he said sadly somehow finding it relieving to get it off his chest.

"I wouldn't know what that would feel like. I never had any brothers or sisters. They were all killed when I was young. I was brought in by this man and he taught me everything I knew about zoids. He too was murdered and everything past that just seems a little blurry. I joined just because I wanted to find the murderer of those that were close to me and bring him to justice," she said closing her eyes in pain at the memory of it all.

Thomas found something odd about her words. "How do you know it's person that killed your family is the same on that killed your mentor?" he asked taking a quick look at her but it didn't last long.

"He was after me, that's why? I escaped from him once and he came after me to finish the job. He didn't kill me though. I remember being captured and then somehow finding myself all alone in the middle of nowhere. I don't know his face, I just hope that I can somehow find him someday," she spoke in such a soft tone that it was almost hard to hear.

"And I thought I had it hard because of my brother. If it helps any, I hope that you do find him and get your revenge on him. Maybe then you can move on with your life," he said smiling at her slightly.

She couldn't help the blush that slightly crept onto her face. The more she talked to the man, the more she started to like him. "Thank you," she said with a nervous smile before everything went quiet again. 'What's wrong with me? I've never acted like this in front of anyone before,' she thought with a sigh as she leaned back and closed her eyes.

* * *

Van was lying down on a bed with his hands behind his head staring up at the ceiling. Fiona was lying right by his side with her head on his chest. It did kind of hurt with his broken ribs but at the same time, her mere presence soothes his injured body in a way that no medicine could.

Fiona looked up at Van with a smile. "We need to think up some names Van," she said making him look towards her. "I know I am still early on but I want to start thinking up names for out baby," she said placing her hands on her still rather flat stomach.

Van looked down on her with a smirk on his face. "How about Waldo for a boy's name," he said laughing at the funny expression that was suddenly on her face. "Don't worry; the kid would hate us if we named it that. I have no ideas really. What do you think?" he asked her placing his own hand next to hers on her stomach.

Fiona had a look of thought on her face as she tried to think up any names. Only one seemed to come to mind. "I like Kristine for a girls name. We can also call her Kristi for short," she said with a smile.

The name just seemed to stick with Van. The name sounded perfect as if it had been decided long before then. "How do you know it's a girl? What if it's a boy? What would we name him then?" he asked in a teasing manner. Yet just like when they had this discussion before, he felt the same with Fiona in that it was a girl.

"Didn't we already discuss this Van?" Fiona asked with a small chuckle. "Even then you agreed that we both felt that it would be a girl.," she said with an even brighter smile. She loved the thought of having a baby girl and it made it better that she knew that it would be Van's.

"Yeah, yeah. I like the name though. It just seems so right," Van said and was about to start speaking when he heard a small commotion outside of the door way. "I wonder what's going on," Van said as him and Fiona got off the bed and headed for the door.

The door slid open and two heads peeked out into the deserted hallway. There was no one there except for two people. Thomas and the new girl who appeared to be asking him something and he didn't seem to want to answer. In fact, he looked a little agitated.

"Now there's something you don't see everyday. Someone is annoying Thomas instead of vice-versa," Van said with a chuckle only to have Fiona lightly hit his chest with her hand. It wouldn't have hurt so much if he wasn't hurt. "Careful, I'm hurt Fiona," Van whimpered to his love.

Fiona just rolled her eyes at him and continued to watch the scene that was playing out before her. It was obvious that the girl had some sort of crush on the dibison's pilot. "They look good together," she said quietly and saw Van just nod his head in an unsure way.

She saw Thomas face snapped up as if he heard her and he smiled in their direction. "Hello Fiona. How are you doing?" he asked waving at her and Fiona could see that Ashley didn't seem too pleased with it.

Fiona couldn't help but chuckle. 'It seems she gained some sort of crush on Thomas,' she thought with a smile. "I'm fine. As good as I can be in my state," she said before an idea came to her. "Ashley, I was wondering if I could speak to you for a second," Fiona said as she reluctantly stepped away from Van.

Ashley looked confused for a second before she nodded and followed Fiona down the hall into another empty room. "What is it you wanted to talk to me about?" she asked eyeing Fiona suspiciously.

"You like Thomas, don't you?" Fiona asked and she saw Ashley suddenly blush which was all the confirmation that she needed. "It's ok. I think it's a good thing. Thomas is a lonely person who can use someone like you," she said with a smile.

"Now hold on. I never said that I liked him. He's a goof," she said but she could tell that Fiona wasn't falling for it. "Am I that transparent?" she asked Fiona as she hung her head in defeat.

"A little. Moonbay always said the same about me about my feelings for Van. I guess I can agree with her. Thomas is a good person though and I think I can help you," she said with a smile. This didn't seem like something she would normally do but hormone's can make a woman do weird things. 'Tomas was upset about Van and I. This is the least I can do,' she thought smiling at the apprehensive woman.


	6. get over it

Thomas was grumbling when he looked at himself in the mirror. 'How the hell did I get dragged into this? I should be going on a date with Fiona, not Ashley. I don't care if Fiona's pregnant. I still want her,' he grumbled to himself as he looked at the civilian clothes he was wearing. He was used to wearing his normal guardian force clothes.

He remembered Fiona walking up to him the day before and he immediately became flustered. He didn't know how it happened but he ended up being put in a double date with Van going with Fiona and him going with Ashley.

Thomas sighed and walked out of his room. He needed to head to the command room first to find Van. Apparently he had a meeting with Crougar and Zack before he could leave so Thomas needed to see if he was done. He was also requested to be there so he needed to hurry.

He walked into the room and Crougar turned to look at him. He gave him a questioning look about the clothes but Thomas just waved it off and walked forward to see the two guys glaring at each other.

Now that everyone's here, we might want to get started since it appears that you two of other plans," Crougar said indicating the way both Van and Thomas were dressed. Something that wasn't appropriate for a military establishment. "We need to see if we can get to the bottom of the attacks that took place not too long ago," Crougar stated bringing up a screen.

Zack stepped forward and typed a few things into the computer. A picture was brought up that made him growl. It was the guy that ended up sending him to the hospital a few weeks prior. "Based on intelligence brought by reliable sources, we have come to the conclusion that the one known as Ryan is the one that's leading this rebellion against the guardian force," Zack stated as information about the man popped up on the screen.

"I'm not so sure about your conclusion," Van said rubbing his chin in thought. "I had a run-in with this man and I can say that he's more like a general to the armies. Even generals' follow orders from a superior no matter how high their rank is," Van said trying to remember any sort of thing to help him in his own conclusion from their previous encounter.

"I'm not so sure of that. This information came from a reliable source so don't think of questioning it. Many of the higher ups agree with the statement so you might want to keep your unreliable comments to yourself," Zack sneered although no one noticed him sweating a little.

"That was uncalled for Lieutenant," Crougar said turning towards Zack sternly. "We need to view all sides of the argument before we can come to any conclusions in the matter," Crougar said turning back to Van. "Please continue Van," he said and Van just nodded.

"Something that he said during my run-in with him makes me think that he really is just following orders just like the rest of them. 'I wouldn't mind killing you both now but I don't think he would concur with it so I won't.' he was hoping for us to attack him so he had an excuse to hurt us. It appeared that he was under direct orders to at least take Fiona in alive at the least," Van said having a headache from remembering that day.

"Oh please," Zack grumbled crossing his arms over his chest. "That could mean just about anything. Like he was just doing a favor to one of his subordinates," he said glaring at Van wondering just how much Van actually knew.

"Fat chance of that. He doesn't seem to care about his subordinates. He's easily killed them because of weaknesses in them. Being merciful to an enemy doesn't seem to be his style and he would've killed the person. He did it in me first encounter with him. He killed a guy just for being caught," Van said reading over the contents on the screen.

Zack looked like he was going to retort with something but Crougar just raised his hand to silence him. "I believe that Van may be right in that he is actually following the orders of someone above him. However I will not leave the other option open either. That'll be enough for now. Dismissed," he said and everyone saluted to him before leaving.

Zack scowled at Van before walking out of the room. He didn't need anyone to know of that. That was why he never fought them directly before. He didn't need them to know that he was in charge of everything that had been going on. 'I need to get rid of him and quickly. But it's common knowledge we hate each other so if something unknown was to happen. They may actually look to me about it. What can I do?' he asked himself before a grin spread across his face. "Perfect," he said with a laugh.

* * *

Thomas was still grumbling about the injustice of Van being the one to be going with Fiona by the time they met up with the girls an hour later. "Oh get over it Thomas. Do you honestly think I'd let Fiona go with some other guy when she's carrying my child?" Van asked glaring at Thomas.

"Not much honor getting a woman pregnant outside of marriage. Not to mention that it takes her off the market for better guys," Thomas grumbled not thinking that Van would be able to hear. Unfortunately for him, Van did hear it and smacked Thomas upside the head hard. "Damn it! That hurt!" Thomas yelled clutching his head.

Van just smiled and said nothing. He then saw Fiona and walked quicker to see her. "Hey Fiona," he said wrapping his arms around her waist and kissed her on the lips quickly. "Ready to go?" he asked looking from Fiona to Ashley seeing the both of them nod their head.

As the four of them walked towards and awaiting vehicle, the came across what was clearly and angry looking Zack. Just the look in his eyes as he glared towards Van made everyone shiver. None more than Fiona when she saw his lustful eyes glance towards her.

"That guy really gives me the creeps," Van muttered watching as the guy walked away from them. "I don't think I need to say this but please stay away from him Fiona. Something doesn't feel right about him," Van said clutching Fiona closer to him. That incident in that battle was still very much on Van's mind. He didn't trust the guy any farther than he could throw him.

Fiona didn't really know what to say but she still nodded her head anyways. She had the same instinctive feelings about that guy as Van. She just knew he was the one that caused Van to be in that zoids accident.

"Come on," Van said leading them to a special car that the guardian force had available for their members to use when they had a day off. 'Must know that we wouldn't want to be stuck in here when we could be out enjoying ourselves,' Van thought as they all got in with him being the driver.

* * *

Zack didn't like the fact that Fiona was out with Van at that moment. However, it also gave him a chance to do a few things that needed to be done since many people were just coming and going that day. He could just leave the place without drawing too much attention to himself.

He went and grabbed his zoid and raced out of the hanger in a completely different direction that Van and the others went. The zoid ran for about fifteen minutes before it came to a stop and Zack jumped out of the cockpit.

He now stood by a large mound of rocks. He walked up to the side of it and moved some fake rocks out of the way revealing a small control panel. He type in the code and a small door opened and he walked into it. It was nothing but a small room with several computers in it.

Ryan saw Zack enter the room and he stood up. "Why are you back? Van is still alive," he said wondering why Zack hasn't yet taken care of their mortal enemy. 'Wasn't that the main reason that he decided to infiltrate the guardian force?' he asked himself as the two of them took a seat.

"My idea is not to just kill Van Flyheight for now. My plan is to turn everyone that he fights for against him. His strength only comes from his friends. Separate him from them, and he'll fall easily. To just kill him may raise some suspicions about me and I can't afford that right now," Zack said grabbing a cup a coffee.

Ryan scowled at the idea. "But we need to get rid of him now. He's the only one that stands between us and our ultimate goal!" Ryan said angrily as he stood up and slammed his fists down upon the table.

Zack just sat there calmly as if he suspected this sort of anger from the man. "Calm down and sit down," he said and watched as Ryan obediently responded to it. "My goal now is to take over the guardian force from the inside. Then from there, the Republic and the Empire. Not even Van would be able to stand a chance against me if I can manage that. Not to mention we'll have no one to stand against us if all the governments are gone," he said and saw the smug look on Ryan's face.

"I take back my statement. Van could be useful alive if you're to do this. Putting yourself on their good graces after turning them against him will make you look like a saint to them. Then taking out the criminal Van would make you move up the ranks little by little," he said as he listened intently.

"However, we have a bit of a problem right now. Van Flyheight has raised the suspicion that there is someone else in charge of my army. Since they know about you, I've tried to make them think you're in charge. Van has made it look like the truth. I need you to do something about it since it was you that raised the suspicion in the first place," he said glaring at Ryan.

Ryan smirked as he leaned back in his seat and crossed his hands in front of his chest. "I think I can handle that. Just tell me what you want me to do," he said as his grin only increased as the plan was explained to him.

* * *

Van and Fiona happily sat across from each other making lovey-dovey faces at each other. The sight of it just made Thomas want to throw up but he tried to hold it in the best he could. He hated to see that Fiona was happy with someone other than him. It made him so angry that he didn't even talk to the woman that was supposed to be his date.

Ashley looked a little jealous at the amount of attention Thomas was giving to Fiona. "So Thomas. You said you made an A.I. program once. I'd like to hear about it," she said knowing that flattering him about stuff like that would help her get his attention.

Thomas perked up at the mention of while both Van and Fiona just rolled their eyes being prepared for a very long discussion about stuff that neither really understood. It was like he talked in a foreign language when he spoke about his precious Beak system.

"Well I'm really glad that you asked me about it. You see…" he said before going into a long discussion about how he originally thought up Beak up until he finally finished it and installed it into his dibison. He then went into a thorough analysis of it and all its abilities.

Van and Fiona had nearly fallen asleep after his thirty minute speech. Ashley didn't think it would be so long but she was interested in what he had to say about it. "That's neat. Maybe you should think about summarizing it in the future though," she said pointing to the nearly sleeping Van and Fiona.

Van and Fiona jumped up a bit at the mention of them. "Is it over yet?" Van asked with a yawn and was playfully swatted on the shoulder by Fiona. He then saw her stick out her tongue at him. "Put that away before I do it for you," he said with a smirk.

Fiona just seemed to grin a little more at him and just stuck it out farther at him. No sooner had she done that, than his lips came crushing against her. Their tongues battled for dominance. It seemed to weird to Fiona that they were making out in a public place but she didn't seem to care right then.

"Oh please. Spare me the drama," Thomas and Ashley said in unison as they rolled their eyes at the same time. They then looked at each other and both of them burst out in laughter at how the were doing the exact same things.

"Oh come on. If you had a lovely pregnant girlfriend like I do. Then you'd be making the best of it as we are," Van said to Thomas but then he heard a squeal coming from Ashley that made him cover his ears.

"Oh my god! You're pregnant Fiona?" she asked excitedly and squealed even more when she saw Fiona just nod her head looking slightly embarrassed with how much attention they were all getting right then. "Oh I love babies! They're just so cute. I can't wait to have one of my own someday," she said dreamily as she stared off into space.

Thomas suddenly felt embarrassed at the thought of it but he had no idea why. "Oh please. I kind of wish that she wasn't," Thomas muttered a little grumpily as he leaned his head upon his hand in annoyance.

"Oh don't be like that! The thought of a baby is great!" she said turning towards Fiona and started to pelt question after question towards Fiona. "How far along are you? Do you know if it's a boy or a girl? You said that she was only you're girlfriend. Are the two of you planning to get married?" she asked far too quickly for either of them to be able to get an answer out.

Van felt a little flustered at her last question. He'd been so happy at the thought of the child and being with Fiona that he didn't even think about marriage. He loved the idea of it. However, even though they were having a child, he just thought it was too early in their relationship. He wanted both Fiona and him to have a little more time together before he did that. He knew that he'd probably ask her soon though.

Fiona too felt flustered at the mention of marriage. "Even though we've known each other for a while. We've only been together for a short time. It's still a little early but maybe someday," she said with a smile which Van gratefully gave her in return since he had the exact same thoughts. 'Then again, if he was to ask me now, I'd probably say yes,' she thought with a smile.

Ashley groaned in disappointment. Weddings were so fun to go to. That is if she would even be invited to it. "Most would try to marry their pregnant girlfriend as soon a possible. This is different," she said but they just shrugged.

"Most think that the two of them are married as it is," Thomas muttered reluctantly. It was something that he had been trying to convince himself is wrong but even he knew that it was the truth. The two of them were always together which made people think that they actually were married.

Van suddenly stood up and held out a hand for Fiona. "I'm going for a walk. Do you want to come along?" he asked her and then felt her place her hand in his as he lifted her out of her seat. They then left the restaurant leaving the other two still seated in the booth.

Ashley looked towards Thomas as he watched the happy couple walk away hand in hand. He had a look of sorrow on his face. "Did you love her?" Ashley just had to ask although she didn't really want to hear the answer.

Thomas looked at her and just nodded his head. "I have ever since I first met her. I've been captivated by her looks, her personality, everything that there is about her. I always hated how she always gave Van her undivided attention even if I was trying to talk to her," Thomas said slamming his fist down on the table rather angrily.

Ashley looked at him for a second but then smiled. "You know the saying; there're plenty of other fish in the sea. Why stick with something you can't have. You'll just waste your life away if you continue to pursue her," Ashley said in a wise tone as she leaned back in her seat.

"You think I don't know that. I think what's worse is that I lost her to Van. I've always considered that he was my biggest rival. Just like Karl, I could never seem to beat him in everything. Now he beats me again by taking Fiona," Thomas said not realizing how much his words were hurting Ashley.

Ashley suddenly put on a brighter face and stood up. "Come on. You need to forget about it and move," she said grabbing his hand and pulling him so that he stood up as well. "There are plenty of other people so don't sulk over one when someone like you can probably easily get another," she said dragging him towards the door, She was determined to make him forget about his crush on Fiona.

"Hey! Hold on! You're about to tear off my hand!" Thomas yelled but she either didn't hear him or she didn't want to listen to what he said. He then ran up to her so that she wouldn't have to tear off his hand in the process. He was surprised. He'd never met anyone as happy as her. It was strange but kind of pleasant.

"Come on. I'm going to make you have so much fun that you won't even remember those feelings of yours. I say that you just need to have a little fun," she said with a smile before she pulled him once again racing down the streets.

Thomas eventually just gave in and allowed himself to be dragged along. 'What the hell! I have nothing better to do. Maybe she's right too. I just need to forget about it," he thought before finally smiling and rushing to keep up with her.


	7. darkness and light

Van laid there with Fiona in his arms. Every time he looked at her, he looked very fondly and lovingly. He always wondered what it was that he did to deserve such a beautiful angel. He didn't care though just as long as she was there he never felt alone even when none of his other friends are around.

Van started to dislodge himself from Fiona and stand up he heard her whimper at the loss but she quieted down when he gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. Then he left the room silently so that he wouldn't wake her up. She did need plenty of energy for her and the baby.

That thought of becoming a father was all very strange to him but he had to say that he couldn't be happier. The woman he loved was having his child. He felt that nothing bad could happen to him right then. He could take on the deathsaurer again and felt like he could win without a problem.

Van walked into a kitchen which was unoccupied at that time in the morning and felt like he could give cooking a try. 'Maybe I can make something better than this awful food they give us,' Van thought as he started cooking. Even as everyone started to come in, they didn't ask him too many questions about what he was doing.

Van looked down at his creation and thought he actually did a pretty decent job. He just hoped that Fiona would like it. So he put it on a plate and then carefully started to carry it back to their room.

Zack stood the looking carefully around the corner watching Van carrying the food back. 'This is pathetic. Look how mushy he's acting over her. He doesn't deserve someone like her,' Zack thought with a scowl as he watched Van walking in his direction. 'I need to get rid of him!'

Van was walking down the halls towards the room. This was the best thing he could think of doing for her since she was limited on the stuff she could do nowadays. The food was making him hungry but this was for Fiona and not for him so he just ignored his stomach for once.

It came all of a sudden. A man came rushing around the corner and Van wasn't able to move in time as the man came crashing into him. This unfortunately made the breakfast that Van made for Fiona go flying all over the floor.

"Hey watch it!" Van yelled at the person and scowled even more when he saw that it was Zack. "Watch where you're going! I worked all morning on that!" he yelled letting his frustration get the better of him.

Zack stood up and glared down at Va. How he hated the man that was sprawled out on the ground before him. "Well sorry but some of us have better things than to dote on our girlfriends all morning!" Zack yelled sounding frustrated himself but in fact he was smirking on the inside.

Van growled as he got up. "Well some of us aren't as serious as you," Van scowled hating the man before him just as much as the man before him hated Van. "Now get out of my way!" Van said angrily as he tried to go back into the kitchen. He'd have to make it all over again.

Zack scowled as he watched Van walk away. He was hoping that Van would react worse than that and do something to get in trouble. "I don't know what she sees in a loser like you," Zack said pretending to mutter to himself although he said it loud enough for just Van to hear.

Van quickly turned around and glared at the other man. He didn't know how such a good day could go horribly wrong. "What the hell did you just say!" Van said although he wasn't surprised that such an asshole would have the gall to say such a thing to him.

"I didn't say anything," Zack said feigning innocence "I am curious as to how you got someone like her though. So young and she's pregnant. Neither you or her obviously have no honor if you'd do something like that," Zack said and mentally smirked when he saw Van practically shaking in anger.

"How dare you! It was just as much decision as it was Fiona's. Don't you dare go and say stuff like that you asshole!" Van said trying not to hit him even if it was very tempting to do so. He then turned and started to walk away again.

Zack was just getting frustrated that Van had yet to try and hit him. It wasn't going as he expected. He then saw Crougar turning the corner and knew he had to think quickly. "You couldn't even wait? You are awful and I can't believe that she would even let someone like you put her in such a horrid situation," Zack said knowing his words weren't terrible enough to get him in trouble for it.

Van just seemed to snap. The guy was pushing all of his digits. Then he has the gall to insult his relationship with Fiona. That was just the last straw as he quickly turned around and punched Zack with all of his strength sending the other man sprawling out on the floor.

Van suddenly felt himself being held down by other shoulders as he glared angrily at Zack wishing that they would just let go so that he could continue to hit the man. But they were strong and weren't letting go of him.

"Van!" Crougar said looking at Van with disbelief. "I can't believe what you just did!" he said seriously as he saw Zack pick himself off the floor and wipe some blood from his nose. "You know that no matter what the circumstances that you're never to hit another soldier like that!" he said looking down at Van. "I expected more form you," he said with a tone of disappointment as he didn't look at Van.

Van couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Why am I the only one to be blamed? Anyone having to suffer the taunting I did would probably snap as well!" he said as he continued to struggle.

"I wasn't taunting you, just making a few comments. Nothing that was worth getting punched over," Zack said although he was jumping for joy that his plan actually worked. He had to admit that it was rather hard to actually get Van to do exactly what he wanted him to do. Having it done right in front of Crougar made it even better.

Zack figured that he'd just continue on and bring up stuff that weren't thought of much nowadays. "You haven't liked me from day one. You tried to run me through with those blades on your zoid and now this!" he yelled but Crougar held up a hand for him to be quiet.

"The fact is that you still struck a fellow guardian force member. Are you even going to apologize?" Crougar asked but Van didn't even answer and continued to glare at Zack. "I think it would be best to have you locked up for a few days just so you can have time to think things over. I expected better out of a captain," Crougar said before he walked away shaking his head.

* * *

Fiona rolled over and groaned as her eyes slowly started to open. She saw that the lights in the room were already on and that the comforting hands that usually surrounded her when she woke up were absent.

Van slowly sat up on the bed and looked around with tired eyes. "Van?" she called out but there wasn't any reply from the room. "Where'd he go?" she asked herself while throwing the blankets off and started to walk towards the dresser for some fresh clothes.

Fiona grabbed a pair of shorts and a slightly baggy shirt and was ready to throw it over her head before looking at her stomach where a two month old baby was growing. Anyone looking probably couldn't see much but it was starting to show a very small amount right then.

Looking down at it, she couldn't help the beautiful smile that graced her lips. She placed her hand over the tiny mound and smiled even more. "A baby, it'll be perfect in every way," she spoke before throwing the shirt over her head and started to walk to the door.

"Now to find Van," she said happily as she looked down the corridors. He promised he'd spend all day with her which was why she was so surprised that he wasn't there when she first woke up. Something that she was really getting used to over the past few weeks that they've been together.

She walked slowly so as to not miss any signs of her beloved but started to grow a little frustrated when she couldn't find him even after nearly a half an hour of searching. "Why can't I find him?" she asked herself as bad thoughts started to go through her head about all that could've happened while she was asleep.

Irvine came around the corner and Fiona's expression brightened because she figured that he might know where Van disappeared to. "Hey Irvine!" she yelled while running towards him also causing him to look up at her. "Have you seen Van?" she asked looking at him seriously as if daring him to lie.

Irvine looked at Fiona a little confused for a moment. He thought that just about everyone in the base knew about what happened between Van and Zack earlier that day. Yet now he hears that the one person who should have the right to know most doesn't know anything about it. "You haven't heard?"

Fiona's eyes furrowed in confusion. "Heard what? Van told me that he'd spend the day with me and yet I haven't seen him yet," she explained still looking around for the father of her child. She suddenly grew more and more worried. "What haven't I heard?" Fiona asked in a soft tone.

Irvine sighed since he hated to be the one to tell Fiona about the incident earlier that day. "He's being held for a few days because he got into a fight with Zack earlier today. Zack got off because he didn't do anything but Van seemed to punch him for no reason," he said and saw the sadness flicker in Fiona's eyes.

"Oh I see," she said as her sad crimson orbs looked towards the ground. 'There goes our day together,' she thought sadly since she was really looking forward to it. "Do you have any idea why he would do such a thing? I know Van enough to know that he wouldn't hit someone without a reason."

Irvine just smiled sadly at her. "I have no idea. He claims that Zack was taunting him, which I agree with. Zack claims that he didn't do anything wrong except make a few comments. Those around can testify for some of it," he explained and just saw Fiona's eyes grow a bit sadder. "Don't worry Fiona. I'm sure everything will turn out just fine in the end," he said but didn't seem to do much.

Fiona didn't stay very long to listen to the rest of it. She just slowly walked away hoping that she would be able to talk to Van and get the true story from him. She knew he wouldn't lie to her. So she knew she could get the real truth from him.

Fiona walked towards the holding cells and came to a stop when a guard stepped in her path. "I'm sorry but you can't go in there," he said knowing exactly who Fiona was. "I know it must be hard for you but I have to follow protocol," he explained with a sad smile.

Fiona put the best pleading look on her face. "Please, I really need to talk to Van. I know he'd never lie to me so I know that I can find out what actually happened," she said staring at the aging man pleadingly.

The guard really didn't know what to do about her. He felt so bad but he also had his duty to take care of and neither of them had the authority to go against that order. He groaned as he moved aside. "Make it quick. You're not supposed to be here and you never were," he said with a small smirk.

"Thank you," Fiona said bowing as she walked into the area that was lit by only a few dim lights. It was different from the actual prison do it was a little more comfortable but it still had a rather dark look to it. Fiona had to admit that it was the first time that she ever was in this one.

She walked up to probably the only cell that had anyone in it. "Van," she muttered to herself as she saw him sitting there staring up at the ceiling. He looked bored and angry at the same time and she couldn't blame him.

Van sat up when he heard his name and saw Fiona standing just outside his cell. "What are you doing here Fiona? You know that you shouldn't be here," he said standing up and walked over so that he was right in front of her.

"I know. I just needed to see you," Fiona said taking a hold of his hand and giving a small squeeze. "Why'd you do it Van? Why'd you hit him even though you knew you'd get in trouble for it?" she asked staring at her feet.

Van groaned a bit at the memory of it. "Because he was being an asshole who deserved a good punch," Van said temporarily letting go of Fiona's hand but then placed that hand on her cheek. "He was just saying stuff about you… about us that I just couldn't stand," he said brushing his thumb across her cheek.

"Van you don't have to defend me about stuff like that. I'm happy with what we have. I don't care what others say about us. That doesn't matter to me. What matters is that you're with me," she said pacing her hand over his and relaxed into it.

"I love you Fiona and I'll defend your honor until my final breath. You should go though. I'd prefer it if you weren't caught here and end up getting in trouble because of it," he said letting her go and he just saw her nod her head. "Sorry I couldn't spend the day with you like I promised."

Fiona looked at Van and gave him the smallest of smiles. "That's ok Van. We'll do that when you get out of here," she said reluctantly taking a few steps backwards. 'I hope it doesn't take too long,' she thought as she turned around and walked out of the room as Van went back to the position he was in before Fiona came.

When Van saw that Fiona was gone his hand balled into a fist and he punched the wall rather hard with the side of his fist. "Damn it!" he yelled as he dug in his pocket for something. He had a reason for wanting to have a special day with Fiona.

He pulled out a small velvet case and opened it to see a beautiful diamond ring. It wasn't just the right thing to do but also the thing he wanted to do. He loved Fiona and would love to spend the rest of his life with her. That is if she decided to accept his proposal.

"I guess I'll just have to wait until I get out," he said to himself and laid back and started to stare at the ceiling again. Even before Fiona came he'd been wondering about his question and was thinking of the best way to go about it.

* * *

Van was in there for two days just because he let his anger get the best of him. He knew that Fiona was trying to get back in to see him a lot of times during those two days but he wouldn't allow her to get in trouble because of him.

Van stretched as his gate was opened and walked out of it. He was glad to be out of there. He knew that Crougar would probably expect him to apologize to Zack but Van knew there was no way in hell when it wasn't even his fault in the first place.

Fiona stood just outside of that area and smiled when she saw him approaching her. "I was beginning to wonder when they were going to let you out. It was a really long two days," she said as she hugged him and got probably the best kiss of her life. Mainly because it was to make up for the two days that he missed out on kissing her.

"Hey there Fiona," he said grabbing her hand. "Sorry that took so long. I know we were supposed to go out but I have another plan in mind," he said and she looked at him confused. "You'll like it so don't worry. I just had a lot of time to think and thought it was even better," he said grabbing her hand and led her to the blade liger.

The two of them got in and the blade liger shot off into the warm desert. The blade liger was only going about as fast as Fiona could handle but it was still a really decent speed. Van figured that it would only take an hour or two to reach their destination.

Van suddenly brought the blade liger to a stop and pulled something out of his pocket. "Here, put this on," he said holding out a blindfold. He saw her confusion and just smile. "Just do it. I want this to be a surprise," he said with a smile that Fiona couldn't resist.

Fiona reached over and grabbed the blindfold and covered her eyes just like Van asked of her. Then she felt the zoid jump back to it's previous speed very quickly causing her to be pushed into the seat for a second.

"Sorry about that," Van said and she could practically see the grin that was plastered onto his face. The anticipation of what Van had planned was really starting to get to her. She wanted to know what it was.

This went on for about another twenty minutes until the blade liger came to a stop with a sudden jerk forward. Fiona reached up to take off her blindfold but she felt Van's hands over her. "Not yet," he said taking her hand and he led her out of the blade liger onto the sandy floor.

It was obvious that he led her inside some sort of building. It was about a five minute walk inside there but she knew they kept backtracking as if he was looking for something before they finally came to a stop. "You can take it off now," he whispered into her ears making her shudder a bit in anticipation.

Fiona reached up and pulled the blindfold from her eyes. She expected to see something amazing but all she really saw was a place that looked like a dump. She felt kind of disappointed.

Van still grinned despite seeing Fiona's disappointed face. "Do you know what this place is Fiona?" he asked leaning against a wall as he looked around. He looked at her and just saw her shake her head no. He shrugged. It had been a long time since then. "It's the place we first met. I know you had amnesia then but that's no reason to forget this place," he said and nearly laughed when her eyes widened in understanding. "In fact, it was this very room," he said standing up straight and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

'How could I've forgotten this place?' she asked herself as she looked around and saw the remains of the capsule that she was in before Van released her and Zeke. "I can't believe that I forgot," she said with a bit of humor to her voice.

"We've been busy so I guess it was no surprise that you forgot," he said taking her hand and leading her back out into the main area. He headed out and came to a stop and looked up. "Do you trust me Fiona?" he asked with a grin even though he already knew the answer.

Fiona looked at Van with a surprised look. "Of course I do, how could you possibly ask that?" she asked but she just saw him grin as he picked up a hover board. She knew what he was planning on doing and her eyes widened in worry at the thought of it.

Van wrapped Fiona tightly around the waist and the hover board shot ahead of them pulling them along up the side of the building with Fiona just about screaming the entire way up. She wasn't worried though because she knew that Van wouldn't drop her. She had the utmost faith in him.

It was a short amount of time but felt like hours to Fiona before they reached the top of the ruins and Fiona finally opened her eyes. She gasped at the wonderful view that was before her. "I've never seen this view before," she said as she sat down with Van doing the same right next to her.

"I've seen it many times because I've been here a lot since my dad died. It never seems to get old though," he said reaching out and wrapping Fiona around the shoulders and pulling her into him lightly. "The company's much better this time though," he said with a grin.

Van turned her head to Van and kissed him on the cheek. She heard him whimper and laughed before she gave him a big kiss on the lips which he seemed more than satisfied with. "Thanks for bringing me here Van," he said as she buried her head on his chest during a tight hug.

Van turned and smiled at her as he fiddled around with the other object in his pocket. "I had another reason for wanting to bring you here," he said pulling at the collar of his shirt. It made him nervous to ask her something as serious as what he's about to ask her.

Fiona turned towards Van and flashed that smile that he loved so much. "Why's that then Van?" she asked as she rested her head against his shoulder while waiting for his reply since he seemed to be tongue-tied at that moment. She then nearly fell sideways as Van stood up and started to pace around. "Van?" she asked looking at him oddly as she too stood up and stood right in front of him.

Van was grumbling things to himself finding it much harder than he thought to actually ask Fiona. He saw her approaching and scooped her up in his arms and held her tightly. "I love you Fiona," he muttered into her hair as he held her tightly to himself but with enough space for her growing stomach.

Fiona just chuckled and buried her head in his chest again. "I'm well aware of that. I think my stomach is proof enough. I'm sure that you didn't bring me here just to say that," she said and listened to the sound of his racing heart.

"Marry me," he just said suddenly. He felt Fiona stiffen up in his embrace and saw her stumbled back a few steps. It made him worry a little but he went ahead with it and pulled the ring out of his pocket. He then got down on one knee and opened it in front of him. "Fiona, will you marry me?" he asked before looking at her hopefully.

Fiona's eyes were wide as she stared between Van and the ring and then back to Van. 'Is this for real?' she could help but ask herself as she stared in shock at the gorgeous ring that Van held in his hands.

Van was beginning to lose hope more and more as the seconds ticked by and she just stared at him in shock and then towards the ring. 'Maybe I just made a big mistake,' he thought sadly about to give up.

Van was suddenly thrown onto his back as Fiona basically threw himself on him. "Yes, yes! Of course I will Van!" Fiona said extremely happily as she laid kiss after kiss all over Van's face. She'd never been so happy in her life except when she got over the shock of having a baby.

Van just grinned and took the ring out of the case as Fiona held her left hand out to him. He then carefully placed it on her ring finger and admired it for a second. "looks like I'm going to make an honest woman out of you Fiona," he said and she just happily nodded her head. Nothing could've been better at that moment.


	8. from good to bad

To say that Zack wasn't in a very good mood was the understatement of the year. He was downright pissed off. There was a permanent scowl etched across his face that seemed to scare all those around him away.

'Stupid Flyheight,' he thought thinking of what had been happening. It was like no matter what he did to stop it; Fiona always kept her faith in Van. He did everything he could think of to put doubts of Van in her head while he was in prison and yet she would still be seen trying to see Van every day he was in there.

'Van, Van, Van,' Zack thought with a growl. 'He takes everything that rightfully belongs to me and he even has the gall to take what was most pure about her. I should just kill him but then Fiona won't even look at me,' he thought walking into his room and slamming his fist against the wall.

"What the hell does he have that I don't? Why does she only think of him when I can give her everything she could possibly want!" He growled slamming his fist even harder causing a few cracks to appear in the wall.

'I really need to find some way that will really get him out of my hair all together. I have so many plans, not just with Fiona, and he is the one thing that is capable of stopping it," Zack growled leaving his room even though he'd just walked into it a minute earlier.

Zack walked towards the hanger and was about to head to his zoid when he saw the blade liger come into the hanger. He smirked when he saw that Fiona climb out of it but scowled when Van came out right after her. 'She was with Flyheight all day!' he said deepening his scowl even more.

He watched as the two of them walked happily right by him without even saying a word. He then noticed something that he knew wasn't there before. A small diamond ring that was on Fiona's left ring finger. 'No, that can't be right!' he said watching them with shock before his expression turned deadly. 'You've sealed your fate Flyheight,' he thought turning towards his zoid and leaving quickly to plan his next move.

* * *

"Oh wow!" Moonbay said as she admired Fiona's ring. Van had been practically making sure that everyone saw it. She was an expert with stuff like this and she knew this was the real thing. It must've cost Van a fortune. "Where did you get the money for this sort of ring?"

"I had some money from my parents but I've also been saving up my money for several months. I just saw it and knew that it was perfect for Fiona. I didn't care how much it cost," Van explained wrapping his arm around Fiona and kissed her cheek.

Moonbay couldn't help but admire Van and Fiona's relationship. Both of them would be willing to give up everything for one another. She sometimes wished that she could have that. She knew that McMann would do that but she wasn't sure if she'd be able to do the same even though she cared about him.

Moonbay continued to gawk at the ring. There were several times that she even tried to convince Fiona to give it to her but everyone knew that she was fooling around. "So when's the wedding?" she asked curiously.

Van was stumped. He'd asked Fiona but the two of them had yet to even talk about any of the details. "No idea. We haven't talked about it yet," Van said although he knew that he'd rather have it as soon as possible rather than wait. "How about you decide Fiona," he said as more of a statement than a question.

"Me?" Fiona asked and she saw Van just nod his head. "Well… I'd kind of like it to be as soon as possible but I wouldn't care about waiting a hundred years as long as it's with Van," she said lightly caressing his face and her stomach at the same time.

Moonbay rolled her eyes. 'Then again, there's a point between the sight being nice and a little too mushy,' she thought as she stood up. "Well when you decide, tell me. I better be the maid of honor though," she said with a grin before she disappeared from the room.

Van sighed and stood up as well. "I have a few things that I need to take care of. Do you think that you'll be fine on your own?" he asked and she nodded her head. "Get some sleep Fiona," he said since they'd been back several hours and hadn't had any time to properly rest up.

"Okay," Fiona said as she too stood up. The two of them left the room together but eventually turned in two different directions, Van towards the Crougar's office and Fiona towards their room.

Fiona walked silently along the nearly empty corridors. She was just about to their room when a figured suddenly stepped out of nowhere blocking her path. She looked up and wasn't really happy to see who it was. "What do you want?" she asked annoyed trying to walk past but he blocked her path.

"I'm hurt Fiona," Zack said in a teasing voice. "I only wanted to talk with you. There's nothing wrong with that is there?" he asked taking a step forward but frowned when she took a step back. "What's wrong Fiona?" he asked almost looking like he was concerned.

"I have absolutely nothing to say to you lieutenant," Fiona said in a voice that said she was doing her best to control her anger. "I believe what Van said. I know you were the cause of it all," she said trying to get by again but he still wouldn't move. "Please get out of my way," she said sternly.

"Fiona," Zack said with a sigh rubbing his head. "I never did anything to Van. He just attacked me for no reason. You have all this faith in him when even he's capable of lying like everyone else," Zack said softly as he tried to approach her again. He smirked when he saw that she didn't move quite as much.

"Everyone's capable of lying?" Fiona asked and he just nodded his head. "I guess that means that you are capable of it as well," she said and had to fight the urge to laugh when she saw him gaping at her like a fish. He looked like an idiot.

Zack then smirked. He loved how feisty Fiona could get. 'All the more reason that she should be mine,' he thought as he approached her but frowned again when she stepped back. "I'm not lying. This is the second time he's attacked me Fiona. How much longer are you going to stand up for him?" he asked with a pitiful look on his face.

"I'll trust Van as long as I'm still alive," she said trying to get by but she felt him grab her left arm and held it up staring at her finger. "Let me go!" she said struggling to get out of his grasp.

"He proposed to you?" Zack asked in a calm voice as he let go of Fiona's arm. He just saw her nod. "You deserve much better than him Fiona. I'm just worried about you. Your trust is misplaced in him," he said before he walked past her.

Fiona watched him with a worried look on her face. She rubbed her wrist before continuing on into her room. "He's wrong. Van would never do anything to make me not trust him… would he?" she asked but then shook her head of the ridiculous thoughts. She knew Van better than anyone and knew that he was not capable of doing what Zack was accusing him of doing.

Fiona took a quick look back at the man she was really beginning to despise. She then turned towards her room and walked in. She looked at her engagement ring and then placed a hand upon her stomach. These were the two most important things of Van's that she had. She knew that he would trust him forever and nothing could change that.

* * *

Van knew that he was only making it harder on himself. Crougar expected him to apologize to Zack for hitting him. Van downright refused the next second. He wouldn't apologize for something that wasn't his fault to begin with.

Crougar wasn't too happy about Van's decision. He'd always expected better out of Dan's son. He couldn't understand why all of this was happening. Van never had problems before then of this magnitude. He was curious as to what was really going on between Zack and Van.

"You can't expect me to apologize for something that isn't my fault," Van said with a sigh. The stare he was getting from Crougar was really intimidating but he would not submit. He had to make people see that Zack wasn't as great as people made him out to be.

"If that is your decision than so be it. I expected much better of you Van," Crougar said with a disappointed sigh. "I'm sorry to say but on top of the jail time you served, I am also going to have to demote you back to a lieutenant," Crougar said not like the option but he had no other choice.

Van sighed but nodded his head. "I understand sir," Van said as he stood up with a frown. He started to walk to the door with a salute to Crougar. He then stopped and turned to Crougar. "I'm not the only one at fault. I may have hit him but he was the one that started it in the first place," he said to Crougar before he left the room with another salute.

Crougar rubbed his forehead as he watched Van leave. He never wanted things to turn out this way. He had such high hopes for Van, but because of all the mishaps he was seeing all that hope dwindling away in front of his own eyes.

He was brought out of his thoughts when the door opened again but this time it was Thomas that came walking through the door. "You wanted to see me sir?" he asked as he walked into the room.

"Yes have a seat," Crougar said pointing towards the seat that Van had occupied earlier. "I have something that I want you to see," he said pulling out a remote and pointing it towards a screen which lit up with several pictures of an iron kong. "Remember the discussion we had about the man named Ryan?" Crougar asked as a picture popped up of a man.

"Yeah. I remember the heated debate between Van and the new guy about whether he was the one pulling all the strings or not. Has more evidence come up?" Thomas asked looking over the stats on the screen.

"There have been several attacks recently committed by him. We have a recording of it and all of them keep saying the same thing. 'My armies are the best. This world shall be brought into chaos and I shall control all.'" Crougar recited from his memories of the recording.

"He appears to be making it way too obvious that he's in charge. That settles it in my mind that he really isn't. It appears to be nothing but a ploy to take our minds off the possibility of another," Thomas said and Crougar just nodded his head in agreement. "It was stupid of them to make it so obvious," Thomas said looking to be deep in thought over the situation.

"I agree," Crougar said nodding his head. "I appreciate you input into this. I can't ask Van or Zack about it because of the fact that the two of them are firmly on different sides of the argument and could turn the words into their own ideas," Crougar said and Thomas nodded his head. "Dismissed," Crougar said and Thomas saluted before he left the room.

* * *

Van walked along the corridors sadly. Right now the only thing he really had to look forward to was his future with Fiona. 'Maybe I can just quit the guardian force and just go somewhere far away with Fiona,' Van thought in despair.

'And leave the guardian force in the hands of someone like Zack?' his mind taunted him which just made him feel worse. 'No one believes the truth and people are finding it harder and harder to trust you the last few weeks,' it continued which only made Van want to punch a wall.

Van walked into the hanger and looked up at his blade liger. Even with it's repairs long since complete from that one battle, they weren't able to recover the data from the battle he was seriously injured in. Everyone was believing now that he really did try and kill Zack.

'How long will my friends believe me? How long until Fiona stops believing in me?' These questions just started to pop into his head. He wondered if it was possible for it to get any worse. 'How could a day that started so wonderfully end so awfully?' Van asked himself as he just walked past the blade liger and towards a car. He needed to get out and get some fresh air before getting back to work.

Little did Van know but Zack was standing off to the side watching Van's internal battle. 'It's amazing how fast those that originally trusted him can just suddenly turn against him. How long will Fiona last? Let's test that theory,' he thought with a smirk as he turned around and left.

'My plan so far has been perfect. Let's just hope my current key player is ready for their part. Let's see if she has faith in him after this,' he thought heading towards Fiona's room ready to break all of her trust in Van with one attempt.

It had been an hour or two since his last attempt at talking to Fiona and he hoped that she'd be a little more willing to talk to him this time. He had everything planned out and it would all be ruined if she wasn't willing to come with him to see the important event.

He was in luck because just as he was approaching Fiona's room she was coming out of it. "Fiona," he said trying his best to sound hesitant to talk to her about it. He wanted her to see him as sympathetic.

Fiona just ignored him which wasn't what he wanted. "Please Fiona. You need to listen to me. This is serious!" he said and smirked when he saw her stop and with obvious reluctance, turned around to face him. "Thank you," he said putting on a smile which was hard for him.

Fiona scowled and looked at him. "Just tell me what you want and then get away from me," she said angrily as she watched him cautiously as if she was expecting him to do something any minute and she wanted to be ready for it.

"I need to show you something Fiona. I don't want you to get hurt but I know that you'll need to see this," he said in a pleading voice but frowned when she just turned and left him without another word. 'Playing hard to get huh?' he thought to himself with a smirk.

Fiona grew more annoyed than before when she found that he wouldn't stop his pestering. She actually wished that Van was there to punch him again. 'Where is Van?' she couldn't help but ask herself. She thought he would've come and joined her when he was finished. She didn't think it would take that long.

"Please Fiona," Zack said almost pleadingly. He was glad that he could be such a good actor when he wanted to. He almost sounded genuinely distressed. He just hoped that Fiona would see that because he wouldn't know exactly how much time his window of opportunity would last.

Fiona finally took all that she could. "Fine! If it will get you off my back then I'll go!" she saying wishing she hadn't but she also knew that he wouldn't stop until she said what he wanted her to. That was one of the things that she hated most about him. He never tried to give her an option.

"Thank you," he said with a smile but on the inside he was grinning victoriously. 'I hope that you enjoyed it while it last Van,' he thought as he walked towards the hanger with Fiona reluctantly following behind him.

"I discovered this a few days ago. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about it until now," Zack said as the two of them pulled into a nearby town. Zack walked in front of Fiona. He didn't want to give her the wrong opinion of him right then because she would need comfort with what she was about to see.

"Just tell me what it is so that I can leave," Fiona said not really caring what he had to say. She just wanted to get back to Van soon and was only doing this because he wouldn't leave her alone until she went with him.

Zack remained silent as he led her towards a small park. "There," he said moving out of her way pointing towards something hidden behind a few trees. He smirked as he watched Fiona approach and her eyes widened in confusion and hurt with what she was seeing.

In front of her was Van and he appeared to be in a heated lip lock with some woman that she'd never seen before. 'How could he!' she asked as she turned around quickly dropping the ring that Van gave her and ran as fast as she could to get away from the area. She couldn't take the sight anymore.

twenty minutes earlier

Van was walking through the town that was nearest to the base. He just wanted some fresh air to help him cool down his head and allow him to clearly think things over after a day that started great turned disastrous in just a few hours.

'I know the truth but no one seems to want to believe me,' Van thought as he walked into a small restaurant. It appeared to be crowded for that time of day but it also appeared to have a rather friendly environment.

Van walked over to an empty seat and sat down while ordering the strongest cup of coffee that they could make. He knew that he needed something strong to help him get through such a day.

His coffee came a minute or two later and he just relaxed into the seat while taking a sip of the strong coffee every once in a while trying to understand what had become his life and about how bad it has become ever since Zack became a member of the guardian force.

"A good looking guy like you should be so stressed. It only makes you look older than you actually are," a chirpy voice said breaking Van out of his thought and making him look at the person who had just spoke.

It appeared to be a young woman about his age. She had deep sapphire eyes, long raven black hair that was pulled into a low ponytail. She was about five feet five inches wore clothes that seemed to show more skin than Van thought was needed. To anyone else, she'd be a rather attractive woman. Van knew he had someone even better than that thought.

Van looked at her for a second while taking a sip of his coffee. "Can I help you?" he asked as she took a seat across from him. He looked around and noticed that there were still a few open seats all over the place since the place cleared out a bit from the way it was when he first came in.

"I just saw you sitting here all alone and thought that you could use some company. It's no fun sitting all alone. I should know since I was just doing that. Do you mind if I join you?" she asked but didn't wait for an answer before she got comfortable in the seat across from Van. "You know, you're really handsome," she said admiring him.

"Yes and I'm also engaged as well as having a kid on the way," Van said trying to mind his own business but she kept trying to start a conversation with him even after he said that. He didn't mean to be rude to her but he wanted to be alone or with Fiona right then.

Five minutes later Van finished his coffee and stood up to leave as she continued to talk. It was unfortunate for him that she too got up and continued to follow him. "Can you please leave me alone, I'm really having a bad day," Van said but groaned when he saw her just smile at him.

She still jogged after him as he continued to try and walk by himself. "If you're having a bad day than you should talk to someone about it," she said as she ignored his request and followed him as he walked towards the far edge of town through a park that was in the very center of the small town.

Van just wanted to be left alone. He didn't understand why she wouldn't leave him alone when he kept pleading with her. He got tired and stopped and turned towards her. He opened his mouth to speak when she flung himself at him and locked her lips to his.

Van was shocked. He didn't understand what was going on for a few moments before he finally regained his senses and pushed her off. "Why the hell did you do that! I told you I was engaged and you still kissed me!" Van said feeling really angry at the woman across from him.

'That was the point,' she thought but put on a smile anyways. "I really like you though," she said putting on a pleading look but he didn't even look at her as he walked away. 'Too late anyways. I did exactly what Zack wanted. Pity I couldn't have you though,' she thought with a smirk before she disappeared from view so as to not incur more of Van's wrath with what was about to happen.

Van was glad to see that she finally gave up. He felt really bad that he let that happen even if he didn't want it. He just hoped that Fiona wouldn't find out about it. He knew it would hurt her even though he never wanted any part of it.

Van suddenly felt something hard under his foot and lifted it and his eyes widened when he saw what it was. 'It can't be! She couldn't have!' he thought growing in panic as he set his eyes on the engagement ring he just gave Fiona earlier that day.

He looked around rapidly as if trying to find some glimpse of Fiona so that he could explain to her what actually happened. 'Please let her still be here,' he thought as he started to run in one direction out of the park.

Just as he was about to run past this one building, a figure stepped out of it blocking his path. It was Zack and he didn't look happy at Van. Van didn't have to be told to know that it was because of Zack that Fiona was here in the first place to see that. "Get out of my way!" Van growled out in anger.

"I can't believe you Flyheight. Fiona had all this trust in you and then you go and kiss some other woman right in front of her. I said it before, you don't deserve her!" Zack yelled before punching Van in the stomach sending him flying into an alley and into a wall.

Van groaned as he picked himself off the ground and coughed a bit since he had the wind knocked out of him. "it was you wasn't it. You set her up to doing that making sure that Fiona was there," Van said as he picked himself off the ground and glared at the man standing in the entrance to the alleyway.

"You're quick to figure that out," Zack said sticking his hands in his pockets and staring at his feet. "It was awfully easy turning everyone against you," he said with a chuckle leaning his back against the wall of the alley. "Now even Fiona won't trust you. It will be all too easy to get her now if I wanted to. I wonder how good she is in bed. I guess I'll find out soon enough," he said breaking out in laughter.

"You bastard!" Van said lunging for him before two shots were heard and Van was thrown back again. He hit the ground hard and clutched his stomach where there was a hole in with his good arm since his other arm was shot as well.

"I'm afraid I can't have you going back Van. It will ruin all my plans. I don't think you'll be able to go back though at least not when I'm done with them. No one trusts you anymore as well. I want you to suffer knowing that you have nothing left in this world," Zack said before he shot Van once more and watched as his body fell limp to the ground.

Zack smirked and then turned and left the alley leaving the near dead Van lying there. Zack didn't care if he actually died but he'd rather see Van suffer. Dying was still a very pleasant option to him. 'Time to finish this,' he thought.

* * *

Fiona was in tears long after she got back to the base. Even when she got there she wouldn't even get out of the car and just cried for just about everyone to see. She didn't care though. The pain in her heart was just too much for her to care about anything else.

Moonbay walked by and noticed her friend's distraught state. "Fiona!" she yelled running over and getting into the seat next to Fiona. "Are you ok?" Moonbay asked but Fiona just started crying harder into Moonbay's shoulder as Moonbay held her in a comforting hug.

"I-I went to town and found V-V…" she said but somehow found it hard to even say his name. "He was kissing this other girl!" she said crying even harder into Moonbay's shoulder. "Why'd he do it Moonbay?"

'I swear once I get my hands on Van I'm going to murder him!' Moonbay thought angrily wondering how it was even possible for Van to be able to hurt Fiona in such a way. "It's ok Fiona. We're going to get some answers when he gets back," she said trying to comfort Fiona to the best of her ability but it didn't seem to be having much effect right then.

The two of them were interrupted when another car came speeding quickly into the hanger. There didn't seem to be much control to it as it slammed into a bunch of equipment and came to a stop without much damage to it.

Everyone rushed over to the car just as the door opened and a badly beat up Zack fell from it looking half-dead. One of his arms was at an odd angle and his body was bleeding everywhere and there were many more bruises besides that.

"What happened here?" Crougar asked as he came running onto the scene with several doctors. He kneeled before Zack and looked at his wounds. "Who did this to you lieutenant?" he asked and he heard a few words but couldn't make them out. "What?" he asked again leaning closer.

"It… it was… it was Van!" Zack finally managed to say loud enough for everyone to hear him. "He… attacked me when I just wanted to talk to him about all that happened," Zack said before he passed out on the floor.

Crougar couldn't believe this. "A third attack on the lieutenant," he muttered to himself. He knew that he couldn't ignore it anymore. He stood up and looked towards everyone. "Attention! Next time that Van Flyheight is found… he is to be placed under arrest by orders of the Guardian Force!"


	9. Fiona's pain

Everyone waited as the doctors bandaged Zack's injuries up. Crougar was there to question him about it more and so was Fiona because she just wanted to know what actually happened to Van.

Her heart was really hurting from what she saw but she still wanted to know what happened to Van. She wondered why he hadn't even tried to come for her, why he did what he did, and what actually happened to put Zack in such a position. She hated the guy but she felt she could at least hear what happened.

A doctor came out and nodded silently telling them that it was ok for them to go in. Fiona followed Crougar with Irvine and Moonbay also coming in since the both of them also wanted to hear Zack's side of the story.

Crougar walked over to the side of the bed. He looked down at Zack who had a brace around his neck, one of his arms in a cast and a nasty black eye. "Can you please tell us all that happened between you and Van?" Crougar asked as someone else started to take notes of what Zack was about to say.

"I saw Van cheating on her," he said indication Fiona. "I confronted him about it and it was like he didn't even care that he was caught in the act. I tried to stand up for Fiona but he just attacked me," Zack explained and it was clear that Moonbay and Irvine didn't believe him but Fiona's face was devoid of all emotions at that moment.

"He…" he said cringing in pain as he clutched his ribs. "He attacked me mercilessly," He said breathing rather hard. Even if it was a scam, he was still hurt. "He tried to kill me!" he said sounding really pained by his injuries. "I could hardly do anything to protect myself. He pulled a gun on me and tried to shoot me. Using the last of my strength I kicked the out of his hands and it fell to the ground going off and it hit him instead. I pulled out that knife of his and attempted to strike me so I grabbed the gun and just shot at him trying to protect myself," he said looking as if it was a really painful memory for him but it was the best moment of his life.

"Wounded, he ran away leaving me there wounded and pretty much leaving me to die!" Zack said clenching his teeth angrily. "I barely had the strength to pull myself to a vehicle and get back here after that. I thought I wouldn't make it."

Zack just laid there and stared at the ceiling with his hands clenched at his side. It looked like he was angry but he was actually just laughing on the inside. The Guardian Force was now after Van and nothing could be done about it. If Van was found dead then it would be deemed because of the wound he got from the gun. If he was alive then he'd be chased after. It was a lose-lose situation for Van.

Crougar sighed wishing that it wasn't true. He didn't want to believe that Van was capable of such violence but the truth was laying right before him. "Very well. Rest up and regain your strength," he said standing up and left the room silently.

Zack saw Fiona following after Crougar. "Fiona," he said and saw her stiffen. "I'm sorry I had to show you that but I didn't want to see you hurt by him anymore," he said before he fell unconscious because of his injuries.

Moonbay scowled and walked towards Fiona and lightly pushed her out of the room. "Don't believe him Fiona. Van couldn't possibly be capable of such an atrocious act," she said but she wasn't sure that Fiona even heard her. She seemed to be filled with a deep sadness. She just knew that the real culprit was Zack and not Van that placed that in her.

The two of them walked silently towards Fiona's room and Moonbay laid Fiona down on the bed. "Have faith in Van Fiona. Something isn't right about all this," Moonbay said but Fiona was asleep before she could even hear it.

Moonbay sighed and left the room to find Irvine standing outside the door with his back pressed against the wall and looking tired. He then pushed himself off the wall and the two of them started walking. "What do you think really happened?" he asked her as the two of them walked down the halls towards the cafeteria.

Moonbay sighed and took a seat. "I know that Zack's lying. Van was too excited about Fiona and the baby. He wouldn't cheat on her. The real question is what Fiona actual saw. It was definitely Van but I can't believe he would cheat on her," Moonbay said as she poured a bit of coffee.

"I know. Van has more honor than that. He was really excited at the prospect of marrying Fiona too. Her and the baby were everything to him. If that wasn't the case then he would've left her when she was avoiding him," Irvine said as Moonbay nodded her head in agreement.

"I find it too convenient that Zack, who has basically been stalking Fiona since he got here, could suddenly find Van cheating on Fiona. I wish I knew what actually happened," Moonbay said it was Irvine's turn to nod.

"What we need is Van. We need to know his half of the story. Something doesn't feel right and I plan to get to the bottom of it," Irvine said getting up and rushing out of the room. 'Where are you Van? Don't you know how much you're hurting Fiona by not coming back. Not to mention how much it's making you look bad by not coming back?' Irvine thought with a scowl as he hopped into his lightning saix and sped out of the base quickly.

* * *

A man walked down the streets since he was late for a very important appointment that he had. 'If I don't hurry then I'm going to be late,' he thought rushing past an alleyway.

A sudden groaning sound caught his ears and he came to a stop. It was one of agony and pain. "W-who's there?" he asked looking closely into the alley as a figure started to come out of the darkness the alley held. "H-hello," he said nervously as the figure approached him.

Van stumbled out of the alley clutching an area near his heart which was bleeding rather profusely. He eyes were blank almost as if they were dead. "Fiona," he mumbled as he collapsed again right in front of the man. Blood continued to pour out of him slowly and he laid unconscious on the ground.

"Oh god!" the man said as he rushed over and knelt down before Van taking his pulse. "It's faint but he really needs to get help," the man said as he carefully lifted Van and rushed him to his gustav. There weren't any good doctors in that town but he knew of a place that had just what he needed.

One month later

Moonbay sighed as she watched Fiona go about her normal routines. It wasn't that she seemed to finally be getting on with her life but the fact that she did it with a smile. It was clear that Fiona was just putting up a mask. Moonbay just knew that underneath; Fiona was crying and screaming out her pain.

Van had yet to even show himself. One month and there hasn't even been a sign of him. Zack was pretty smug with that fact. Unknown to everyone, he was glad not to see Van because seeing him might put his position in danger.

Moonbay carefully approached Fiona because she really seemed to be on edge despite the calm disposition on her face. "Do you need some help Fiona?" Moonbay asked as she grabbed a tool and walked towards the zoid Fiona was trying to help repair.

"Um… that's ok. You don't have to help me Moonbay," Fiona said trying to give Moonbay a smile but she frowned when Moonbay decided to help her anyways. It isn't that she wasn't grateful for the help, she just wished to do it by herself. Something to help her clear her head. Having something to do would keep her from thinking too much about her problems but if Moonbay helped, then it would be finished faster and Fiona would have more time to think.

Moonbay smiled and lightly grabbed the tool from Fiona's hand. "Nonsense. I want to help. Besides, I don't think you should be working so hard when you're pregnant," she said and knew that she might've said the wrong thing right then because pain shot through Fiona's eyes.

Fiona's hand immediately went to her ever growing stomach. Van's child was growing inside her. An ever present reminder of what she almost had. She fought back the tears as best as she could and just walked away after that.

Moonbay sighed knowing that she really screwed up. She was just trying to help Fiona but it turned out to do more damage than that. "Wait up Fiona!" Moonbay yelled running after Fiona before she could get very far away. "I'm sorry if what I said upset you," Moonbay said catching up to Fiona.

Fiona looked at Moonbay with emotionless eyes that held little warmth in them compared to how they used to be. She just wished that she could rid herself of this pain. There was even times that she wished that she could die but she didn't want to take this child's one chance at life no matter how much it's father hurt her. "What did I… do wrong Moonbay?" Fiona asked with her voice filled with sadness.

"Absolutely nothing Fiona!" Moonbay berated her wondering where she could think it was her fault. "Where in the hell did you get the idea that this was your fault!" Moonbay yelled at her which made Fiona flinch a little. This wasn't the Fiona she knew. The Fiona she knew was strong, this one was weak minded. She somehow got the feeling that Zack was behind it.

Fiona looked sadly towards the ground. "Zack said that I must've given Van the impression that I wasn't good enough for him," Fiona said with no emotion to her voice. She didn't know why she believed it but she was just hurting so much.

"To hell with what he says!" Moonbay yelled and she saw Fiona flinch again. "As far as I'm concerned, all this is his fault in the first place! Don't let his words get to you because they are nothing but poison!" Moonbay yelled at her friend despite the pained look she continued to see in Fiona's eyes. She wanted nothing more than to get her old friend back and get rid of this monster that Zack created.

Fiona began to shake pretty badly. She would've collapsed but was caught by Moonbay at the last moment. "I don't know what to do anymore Moonbay. I love Van but he doesn't even want me anymore," she said as the tears she tried to hold in for so long started to erupt from her eyes.

"So you're just going to let someone control how you feel?" Moonbay asked as she held her hurting friend. "Don't look for answers from someone like him. You need to find them for yourself. The more he tries to help, the worse you seem to get," Moonbay said trying her best to calm Fiona.

"I don't know what answers there are though. I want so bad for things to just go back as they were. At least then I had Van. Even if he didn't love me, I loved him and was happy just being with him!" Fiona said and started to cry even harder.

Moonbay sighed as she held Fiona carefully as if she would break if Moonbay did anything wrong. "Maybe you should get some rest Fiona. After a good nap, maybe you'll be able to think of something. You've always been able to before now," she said as she helped Fiona to her feet.

Moonbay carefully guided Fiona down the hall and to her old room. Fiona got herself out of the room she shared with Van because she said that it held too painful memories. Moonbay didn't understand her logic because Fiona's old room was where that child of theirs was conceived. She thought that it would hold even more painful memories but Fiona was really comfortable with it.

Off to the side, Zack watched the scene with great interest. There was a scowl on his face at the sight of Moonbay attempting to undo all that he'd worked to accomplish over the past month.

He knew that even the way she was after the incident that she wouldn't willingly give up Van for him. He worked to weaken her mentality. Put even more doubt in Van and herself into her head. He would've been the one to comfort her though. Make him seem like he really was the good guy. In her weak state, she'd need someone like that. That was when he planned to make his move.

'Now that stupid bitch is trying to undo all that I've accomplish. I can't let that happen!' he thought angrily as he watched Moonbay lead Fiona into her room and then came out a few minutes later.

When Moonbay came out of the room she started to walk down the halls. This gave her a real chance to think things over. 'all of my friends are disappearing on me. Van's disappeared off the face of the planet, Thomas is too busy, Fiona's becoming something she's not, and Irvine…' she thought before cutting herself off not wanting to think about it. Unfortunately, not wanting to just made her still think about it.

Irvine searched for Van a couple of days before he came back and then barely two weeks after Van's disappearance Zack was promoted to the position that Van held before all of this mess started. Irvine hated the idea of that asshole being in charge and just left. He knew it would be an act of desertion but he left anyways. No one had seen him since and Moonbay knew that no one would unless he wanted them to.

Moonbay came to a stop when she saw someone and turned. A scowl crossed her face at the sight of Zack leaning against the wall around the closest corner to Fiona's room. "What the hell do you want!" she growled at staring at him dangerously. Most would cower but he stood firmly.

Zack just smiled as he pushed himself off the wall. "I've just dropped by to check on Fiona," he said walking towards Fiona's room but Moonbay stepped into his path. Do you mind moving? There's something I want to talk to her about," he said not letting the calm look leave his face.

"You're not going anywhere near Fiona! You've done enough damage to her and I'm not going to allow you to do anymore!" Moonbay said standing firmly in her spot. The look on Zack's face just made her angrier. It was like he didn't even care about what she said.

Zack just smirked and chuckled at her. He admired her bravery but thought it was rather foolish. "I don't think you have any choice in the matter. Fiona's a big girl. She can take care of herself," he said with a smirk as he pushed her out of the way.

Moonbay regained herself and stepped in front of him again. I swear if you take another step towards Fiona I'll… I'll," Moonbay said before raising her fists. "I swear to god I'll beat the crap out of you. Worse than any of those attacks Van's supposed to have done!" she yelled at him glaring at him fiercely.

"Do you really think that will do you any good? It would put you in the same amount of trouble as Flyheight," Zack said with a smirk as he tried to move her again but was interrupted by another soldier. The soldier whispered something into his ear and he nodded his head. "As fun as this has been, I have another matter to attend to," he said turning and leaving.

Moonbay growled and then headed towards her room. She needed to find Irvine. Zack was ruining Fiona and she knew that Irvine wouldn't be happy to know what was happening to the woman he thought of as a sister.

* * *

Fiona groaned as she sat up in her bed and looked around her room. She then looked towards the clock and saw that she'd only been asleep for two or three hours. It felt like much less than that though. She'd have to say that she hadn't properly slept since Van left her.

'I need to find answers, I need to know what I'm going to do about all of this,' she thought as her hand reached towards her stomach. "I wish that things didn't have to be so hard for you. I wish you'd have a father," she said to herself.

'Van, did you really love me or was it all just some stupid joke. Why can't I stop loving you though? I just want to forget you! I don't want to love you anymore!' she mentally screamed in her head as her fist came down but the blow was softened by the mattress.

Fiona didn't even look up when she heard the door to her room open up. She almost instinctively knew who it was. He was always just coming in unannounced. It was rather annoying to her.

"I see you're up," Zack said with a smile as he walked over to Fiona. He was glad that Moonbay wasn't there or this would make it hard to have a conversation with Fiona. "How are you feeling? You didn't look to good earlier," he said looking naturally concerned for her.

"I'm fine," Fiona said as almost a sigh. She knew it was a lie though. She felt that she would never be fine until she could get some real answers. She felt like that would never happen. "Maybe I deserve all of this," Fiona muttered to herself.

"No you don't. I don't know what happened between you and Van but he was a fool," Zack said taking a seat on Fiona's bed right next to her. He placed a hand on Fiona's knee and smirked when she didn't fight back like usual.

Fiona was really uncomfortable with what he was doing but for some reason her body just wouldn't fight back. He just felt so weak right then. "Do you know what I did wrong?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Could be anything but I see Van as more of the one at fault. He's the type that thinks he can get away with anything. Fiona… what would you say if I told you that I had a solution to your problem?"

Fiona looked up at him with those empty eyes. "A solution?" she asked trying to understand. She didn't see how he could have one when she couldn't figure one out. The idea of it was very appealing though. Something that she would give anything for.

"Yes," he said with a smile at the look that said she might actually think about it. "I have researched into the ancient zoidian past for a long time. In that time, I have found many secrets that the ancient zoidians held. There was one in specific that I found that I know might be of interest to you."

He looked and saw Fiona curious eyes. He knew now was the right time to throw his plan into action. She was at her weakest now. "Tell me something. Do you want to forget Van?" he asked and she looked cautious for a second before she slowly nodded her head. "But you know that you can't as long as you're carrying his child?" he asked with a inner smirk.

Fiona couldn't help but nod her head. She couldn't help but feel guilty for some reason. 'Why should I feel guilty? He was the one that abandoned me,' she thought but that didn't stop her from feeling guilty.

"Ancient Zoidians were good with genetics as well as making zoids. Zoid cores are essentially a mixture of genetics and mechanics. That is why they appear to have a mind of their own at times. They found a way that can actually change the DNA structure of a child as long as it is within the first four months of pregnancy," he said pulling out a small vile from his pockets. "It can completely change the father of a child if it wanted to. But it would still need to accept a new one first. I'd be willing to do that if it would help you Fiona," he said with a sickeningly smile.

Fiona couldn't believe what she was hearing. What he was telling her just seemed so absurd. She knew what they needed to do to finish it as well, have sex. The whole idea of all of it was just so wrong. 'So why can't I just say no?' she couldn't figure out what was wrong, why her body didn't respond the way she wanted it to.

Zack walked over to a small bathroom that was connected to the room and grabbed a cup from in there and walked back to the bed. He took the vial and emptied it's contents into the cup. "Drinks this," he said holding it up to her mouth. "Just by drinking this isn't enough though. Unless it is finished, you will be left with this pain you bare in your heart at the thought of a child caused by a man who doesn't love you," he said knowing that might get her started.

He knew that unless that had sex after it, that everything would fail and she would still be having Van's child. The concoction was hard enough to make the first time. He wasn't sure if he would be able to make another one.

He also couldn't allow a child of Flyheight's to exist. He remembered something about it but it wasn't clear. He had to make sure that it was his child instead. That way Fiona wouldn't taint their race with that of the blood of humans.

"I promise you Fiona that I can be a good father to that child. You won't ever have to remember something as painful as this ever again. You just need to trust me," he said somehow finding a moment when he managed to sneak the concoction down her throat before she could react.

Fiona choked for a second but ended up swallowing it. It made her feel a little queasy but then she felt normal afterwards. She couldn't believe that she actually drank such a thing. 'I don't know what to do,' she thought having a bit of a war in her mind. It was split between her loyalty to Van and her need to want to forget about all of this pain she'd been feeling.

Zack carefully placed his hands on Fiona's shoulders and lightly pushed her onto her back. He saw her apprehension and smiled at her. "You just need to relax Fiona," he said climbing on top of her.

Fiona was growing really scared as she felt him reaching for the edge of the shirt. 'Can I actually do this? Can I actually give up the last thing I'll ever have of Van's?' she asked herself trying to pull her shirt back down.

"There is no reason to be scared of me Fiona. I can take better care of you than Van ever could. I can give you the world if I wanted to and make you it's queen. All you need to do is just accept me," he whispered smoothly in her ear before he attempted to kiss her. She dodged that though. He knew she would act like this but he wouldn't let it go on for long. He would make sure that he would have Fiona before the end of the night which was really all the time he had before his concoction would wear off.

He could see that Fiona was really starting to reject it so he did the first thing he could do and forced his lips upon hers. He felt her calm down but her eyes widened in shock and he couldn't help but smirk. "I promise I'll be gentle with you Fiona," he whispered into her ear as he reached for the bottom of her shirt again.

Fiona couldn't believe this was even happening. It was so wrong. 'Can I really do this? Can I really give up Van's child?' she repeated her question over and over in her head. "I… I… I… I can't do this!" she yelled pushing him off her and running to the other end of the room. "This is wrong! I can't just give up Van's child like that!" she yelled wiping all taste of him off her lips.

"So you want to live with that pain Fiona? Do you want to live with that constant remember of that foolish mistake you made of falling in love with a guy that never loved you in return?" Zack asked standing up and he took a few strides towards Fiona.

"I will not have anyone else's but Van's child! I don't know if he actually loved me or not but this isn't right for me to do! This is my child and I'm not going to change one thing about it!" Fiona yelled at him as tears streamed down her face.

Her heart felt the betrayal full force. But it was strange; it wasn't that of Van betraying her but her betraying Van. She knew something had to be wrong if that was the case. "No matter what I will always love Van and don't you dare try to take that away from me!" Fiona yelled running out of the room.

Zack growled angrily. He just knew it was Moonbay's fault for putting such ideas in Fiona's head. He knew that he didn't have much time either. He knew that he needed to complete the act in order for things to turn out correctly.

If he didn't do this now then that child will be born into this world as Van's and he would not allow that to happen. He would rather see it dead then let such a thing exist. He knew he couldn't do that though because Fiona would hate him and that was what he was trying to avoid. 'I have to get her to see reason and just continue!' he thought running out the door.

He turned and looked in all directions but Fiona was nowhere to be found. "Which way did she go?" he yelled as he just ran in a random direction. 'Time is running out, I have to find her!' he mentally yelled as he looked in several different places.

Zack was searching in a room near the hanger when he suddenly heard a bit of a commotion. He ran to the hanger just in time to see the blade liger all but blasting it's way recklessly out of the hanger. He just knew that it was Fiona doing that. "Stop it Fiona!" he yelled up to her.

"Don't come near me!" Fiona said as the blade liger turned to face him. "I'm going and there's nothing you can do to stop me!" she yelled as the blade liger headed towards the hanger doors which were slowly closing. "Zeke!" she called out to her faithful organoid.

Zack thought quickly and tackled Zeke before he could manage to fuse with the blade liger. "Are you just going to leave without your organoid then? I'm afraid that I can't let you do that Fiona. You'll just end up giving a dangerous man back his most important tools," he said holding Zeke down as best as he could.

Zack suddenly collapsed to the ground and Moonbay stood over him. "I told you to stay away from her!" Moonbay said glaring down at the unconscious man with a large piece of metal in her hand. "So what's your answer Fiona?" Moonbay asked with a smile on her face.

"I… I don't know. All I know is that I need to find Van. I need to get the truth out of him. I know that I won't be able to do anything unless I see him. What about you Moonbay? You attacked a captain of the military. I don't think they're going to let you off," Fiona said in a worried tone.

"Are you kidding, this place will be no fun without you, Irvine, or Van. Just get going. Go find him and I'll meet up with you later. You need to hurry though," Moonbay said as she watched Zeke fuse with the blade liger.

Fiona looked at Moonbay a little worried for a few moments and then nodded her head. "I will. Thank you for everything Moonbay," Fiona said as the blade liger rushed out of the hanger door before it closed.

"I guess it's time I got going as well. No doors will keep me in here," she said running to her gustav and she jumped it. She got going and blasted a hole into the hanger door before driving out of there quickly before the could do anything to stop her. "Good luck Fiona."


	10. hope and hopelessness

Fiona quietly walked through the town that she wished she didn't have to come to. It brought back images in her mind of seeing Van kissing that strange woman. 'Forget about it Fiona. I'll get answers from Van. I know that's the only way that I'll be able to go on. He's the only one I know I can believe. I just need to find him first.'

She came across an alley. If it had been a few weeks ago, there would've been military around it trying to find out some clues as to what happened. It was deserted now since they didn't think they could get anymore clues from it.

The alley was dark and messy. There were boxes, barrels, glass, and all sorts of things there. It gave Fiona the chills but she carefully walked into it and had a look around. There didn't appear to be much evidence left to help her.

Something caught Fiona's eyes and she turned her head and looked at a wall. It was cracked as if something had hit it pretty hard. Her hand glided over the cracks and it suddenly felt as if her back was on fire. It only lasted a second and disappeared when she pulled her hand away from the wall. "What was that?" she asked herself before shaking her head to clear her thoughts.

Her eyes then fell to another point. It was a small hole that was about the size of a bullet. "This must be from when the gun went off," Fiona mumbled as her hand once again reached out to touch it.

It happened again. However, this time there was an even worse pain searing through her shoulder. This time the pain remained even after she removed her hand from the wall. It was an excruciating feeling. She didn't know what it was from though.

The pain eventually died down and Fiona breathed a sigh of relief. She lifted her shirt sleeve and studied her shoulder but there was absolutely no sign that anything happened to it in the first place. "Why am I feeling this pain? I don't think I ever injured myself," she said to herself standing up straight while breathing in deeply.

She felt like she had enough of this place and immediately turned and walked out of it. There was something very wrong about it and it was really scaring her a little. "What was that pain? Why was I feeling it when I didn't hurt myself? What is going on?" she muttered as she snuck to the hidden blade liger avoiding as many soldiers as she could so that they wouldn't recognize her and try to take her back.

She felt safe when she reached the blade liger. It was hidden a mile or two outside of the town so she felt that she didn't have to worry too much about any soldiers seeing it leave. She knew she had to be careful though or they would end up noticing something.

What Fiona didn't know was that there was someone standing on top of the building watching all that had happened just a few moments ago. His eyes held confusion but a bit of amusement as well. 'That's really interesting. Never seen such a strong bond between anyone,' he thought as he stood up and turned around.

He watched as two soldiers suddenly appeared before him. He brushed his messy silver hair away from his eyes as a determined look came to those dark eyes. "What do you want?" he asked calmly.

The tall and burly looking one of the two men stepped forward. Both had a mask on their faces so it was impossible to tell what they looked like. They even had dark glasses on so you couldn't even see the color of their eyes. "Our leader has summoned you. Come with us," he said in a deep voice.

"I don't think so. I have pride. I'm not going to roll over and become Zack's lapdog. Tell him that if he wants something to come to me himself. Not that I'll listen to what he wants anyways," he said before he disappeared from view not leaving any trace that he was there in the first place.

The smaller of the two of them stepped forward and looked around. "This isn't good Lord Zack told us to get him in specific over all the rest," the person said in a distinctly female voice. "Then it's decided," she said all of a sudden turning around to walk away, "you're going to be the one to tell him," she said before disappearing.

The burly guy was silent for a second before finally figuring out what she just said. "Hey wait a minute. There's no way I'm going to be the one to tell him," he said running after her.

* * *

Zack slammed his fists down upon Crougar's desk in anger. "Aren't you going to do something? Fiona's been kidnapped along with Flyheight's most powerful weapons!" he yelled at the old man who happened to be looking over some documents.

Crougar sighed as he placed down the documents he was looking at. "There is no proof to show that Fiona was kidnapped. All those in the hanger have stated that she did it by herself otherwise Zeke wouldn't have listened. There0's not much we can do. We have people looking for her but that's all we really can do at the moment," Crougar said with a sigh as he rubbed his forehead.

"But… but!" Zack yelled but couldn't seem to find the words that were needed. "So you're just going to give him back his weapons!" he yelled growing more and more frustrated at Crougar's lack of action.

"That will be enough captain. Fiona was only here as Dr. D's assistant and Van's partner. Unlike the others, she has more freedom than the rest. You may go now," Crougar said once again picking up the documents.

Zack looked like he wanted to protest but thought against it for now. He knew he might say something rash that could put some suspicion on him. That was something he didn't need when he was moving up the ranks of the guardian force. He was gaining more power from within to use as he desired.

Crougar sighed wishing that things were easier right then. Van, Fiona, Irvine, and Moonbay had all disappeared. It was putting a lot of stress on him to do something from not just Zack but from higher ups as well. It was mainly losing Van and Fiona who were very well known by everyone.

Crougar placed down the documents and then picked up another one before he noticed a disk sitting on the desk. "Where did that come from? I don't remember that being there a few moments ago," he said turning on the computer.

The computer started up and Crougar placed the disk into the computer. The program started up but Crougar didn't have time to look at it before something interrupted him. "Colonel Crougar, you're needed down in the hanger," a voice said of the loud speaker.

Crougar sighed and placed the disk on the desk and walked out of the room. "At this rate I'll never be able to get my work done," he said standing up and leaving the room. Not taking a look at what was on the computer at that very moment.

It was quiet in the room for a few moments before a young looking major came into the room. "Now where are those documents Crougar asked me to get for him?" he asked himself before spotting them on the desk.

He walked over and picked the documents on but noticed something on the screen. He knew he shouldn't look through Crougar's things but his curiosity got the better of him. "Oh my god!" he gasped out when he saw what appeared to be the true profile of Zack. "The colonel mustn't have seen this," he said pulling the disk out knowing that Crougar needed to see it that instant.

He was about to turn and leave the room when someone came walking in. He was startled when he saw Zack and ended up dropping the disk into a crack between the desk and a small table that was next to it effectively hiding the small disk from view.

He just knew that he couldn't let the guy get away if what he saw was true. "So it's you. You're the one leading all of those rebels!" he said slowly reaching for his gun. "By order of the guardian force I'm placing you under…" he said but couldn't finish as Zack was able to pull his gun out faster and he killed the man before he could finish.

Zack was glad that this room was soundproof and that the doors were closed or someone would've heard the gunshot. "I'm sorry but I'm afraid that I can't have my secret getting out," he said placing his gun back into its holster. "How did he know?" Zack asked himself a little confused.

He walked over to Crougar's desk and started to carefully look through the documents but he didn't see anything that could possibly mention who he actually was. 'Maybe he has it,' Zack thought as he started to look through the pockets of the man but there didn't appear to be anything in them either.

'What happened? Oh well, dead men can't tell tales. Doesn't appear to be anything here to mention it either. I'll just have to keep an eye out incase something comes up,' he thought before turning and leaving the office. He didn't need to have anyone see him near the dead body.

Crougar came walking back to the office a few minutes after that. He'd asked someone to grab something but he grew frustrated when the man didn't come back. "What could be keeping him?" he grumbled as him and another captain entered the office only to see the man laying dead on the floor. "Call security and get the medics in her immediately!" he ordered and the man immediately ran out of the room. Crougar knew that it was pointless but he knew he had to try and help the guy.

* * *

'Did you just drop off the face of the planet Van?' Fiona thought with a groan while leaning back in the blade liger. It had been well over a week since she left and yet she had yet to find him or meet anyone that might know where he went off to.

She sighed as the cockpit opened and she carefully jumped out of it. She was lucky that this was a town with no military occupation, which meant that she wouldn't have to worry about being spotted and dragged back

She walked into a small restaurant and took a seat and started to look over a menu. "I bet you're hungry too," she said placing her hand over her stomach. She was now three and a half months pregnant and was starting to show to the point where she couldn't wear her normal clothes anymore.

A waitress came up to this table holding a pot of coffee and poured Fiona a cup. "Is there anything I can get for you honey/" the woman asked kindly. She had to be in her late fifties or early sixties but she appeared to still have lots of energy with her.

"Unless you can tell me where Van Flyheight is, then I doubt it," Fiona mumbled while holding her stomach. She never took her eyes off the menu as she spoke but that was only to avoid showing the elderly lady her sad eyes.

"Van Flyheight? Nope, can't say I have seen him or know where he is since the rumor got out that he was on the run from the Guardian Force," the woman said with a chuckle while she pulled out a notebook. "Now, is there anything I can get for you food wise?" she asked with a bit of amusement in her voice.

"Oh… yeah, sorry," Fiona said in a voice that lacked any real energy. She quickly made her order and the woman walked away. It was silent before the woman came back a few minutes later with the food. "Thank you," Fiona mumbled while poking at her food suddenly feeling a lack of an appetite.

"You should eat. It's not healthy for you or the little one," the woman said looking at Fiona's stomach. "Why are you alone? Where's the father?" she asked and noticed as Fiona flinched a little. She had to admit that she grew curious as to why Fiona did this.

"I don't know. That's why I'm looking for him," Fiona replied and the waitresses eyes widened. "I just know he's not as guilty as he's being made out to be but no one is listening," she continued finally looking up from her food and towards the woman.

"I agree. He risks his life for the planet twice and then goes against it's protectors? It doesn't make much sense. It must be neat to have the child of the man who saved planet Zi," the woman said with a smile.

Fiona sighed while taking a bite of her food. "It's only seemed to bring me more and more pain since this whole mess started. I worry that he might not actually love me. I need to find him to know the truth. He just seems to have dropped off the face of the planet though. So I don't know what to do," she said looking out the window and towards the sky.

A sympathetic smile was what Fiona got after her explanation. "I'd say try any doctors you can find. Having the Guardian Force after him must not be very good for his health. People owe him their lives so I don't think anyone would actually turn him in if he went there," she said before turning and walking back towards the kitchen.

Fiona couldn't help but agree. She ate her food slowly and then paid the bill before she left. She walked down the street looking for any doctor that might be able to give her some help. 'I hope he's ok,' she thought finally finding what she was looking for.

Knocking on the door, she heard someone yell for her to enter. Opening the door slowly, she walked into the place and was immediately hit with the smell of all the different medicines there were. "Hello?" he called out looking around the place that appeared to be empty.

"What can I help you with?" a man asked suddenly appearing out of nowhere. Fiona jumped into the air in surprise and the man laughed. "Sorry about that. Is there anything I can do for you Miss?" he asked her with a friendly smile.

He was an older man but not by much. He was probably in his early thirties. His dark brown hair was short and fell forward to just about the eyes. His eyes were a violet color and covered in a pair of glasses. A white lab coat was what he wore.

Fiona had to admit that he was a handsome looking man but couldn't compare to the one that she really loved. "Um… yes. I was wondering if you could help me. I'm looking for someone. Even if he isn't here, maybe you'd know where he was," Fiona said in a soft voice.

The man took a seat at a desk in one of the corners and threw his feet up on them while looking through a few folders. "I might be able to help. My name is Leo Ericson, I'm well acquainted with many of the other doctors in several of the villages in both the empire and the republic," he said with a friendly smile.

Fiona was silent for several moments before she decided to just get to the point. "My name is Fiona Lynette and I was wondering if you knew where I might be able to find Van Flyheight?" she asked him loudly before looking towards the floor.

It was silent for a few moments while the doctor continued to look through the folder he had before she asked. Finally he closed the folder and placed it on the desk. "You from the Guardian Force?" he asked her curiously. He saw her nod slightly and sighed. "I've told many of you people that I don't know where he is. Sorry to disappoint you," he said in a serious voice.

"I might be with the guardian force but my reasons for finding him are completely different. It's a rather personal reason," Fiona responded remembering what the woman at the bar told her about how many owe him their lives and they wouldn't turn him in easily. "It's important," she said in a sad tone.

Leo studied her for several moments before his eyes landed on her stomach. "You're carrying his child, huh?" he questioned in a slightly less serious tone. He saw her nod and still sighed. "Still, I'm sorry to say that I don't know where you can find him. I would've heard something if he was with any of my colleagues," he said and couldn't help but frown at the dejected look on Fiona's face.

'There's another lead that's gone down the drain,' she thought sadly. "I see, I thank you for your time then," Fiona said before turning and walked out the door without saying another word.

Leo watched her leave feeling a bit sorry for her. He leaned back in his seat before jumping at the realization that someone else was in the room. He looked and familiar locks of silver hair caught his attention. "Oh, it's you. You're late," he said relaxing a bit.

"Sorry, I just had important business to attend to that was interrupted," the man said stepping out of the shadows. "I would suggest you help her. She's a victim in this just as much as we are. She being hunted by him for a much more dangerous reason though," he said looking through the window at her retreating form.

"So she's one of the remaining zoidians that survived as well?" Leo asked only to receive a nod in response. "Then maybe it's best to keep her from him. Zack's grudge against the humans is deep. Especially for the family that instigated the division in the zoidians," he said in a cautious tone.

"True, but there's more to it than just that. She can protect him in the state he's in. The guardian force if cautious about this because none of them know what's going on. Zack is working from inside. There's a good chance that he'd kill Van if he found him in such a weakened state. This is because he fears the Flyheight family the most. She would never let that happen though," he reasoned and Leo sighed in aggravation.

"Zack doesn't understand the fact that many of us just want to live in peace! He only thinks about taking back the planet in the name of the zoidians! He's forcing those that want nothing to do with it into his ranks!" Leo said angrily and the silver haired man silently agreed. "Fine, I'll see what I can do."

* * *

Fiona found herself desiring to stay in an actual bed that night. She moved the blade liger out of town and had it hidden from view. She then walked back on foot with Zeke silently walking next to her.

Zeke couldn't help but notice his master's grief and got close to her. Her head turned towards him and he petted him on the nose with a small smile on her face but even he could tell just how forced it was on her. He knew she was losing hope of ever finding his other master.

"What can I do Zeke?" she asked him after walking back into town. "I wish that one of us could tell where he was. I've never had this type of trouble before in finding him. It's like I usually know where he is on instinct. Now I have no clue," she said walking to the nearest hotel.

Fiona quietly walked up to a desk where an elderly woman was relaxing. The woman immediately straightened up upon seeing Fiona approaching. "Welcome. If you are looking for a room than you're in luck," she said in a happy voice.

"Thank you. I'll only be here for a night though," Fiona said taking the key that was given to her after she paid the money for the room. "Good night ma'am," she continued politely before turning and walked down the hall to her room.

* * *

The next morning, Fiona woke up bright and early and got changed. She wanted to get an early start and get back on the road to the next town. Her need to see Van was becoming unbearable by then. To just be able to see him would be enough for her. If everything she thought to be true was wrong, then it was all the better.

Fiona walked out of her room several minutes after waking up and went to return the key. There was a much younger woman there this time. Fiona guesses that it was probably the older woman's granddaughter or something like that since she appeared to still be in her teens.

Almost immediately after she stepped out of the hotel, Fiona found herself colliding with another person. "I'm terribly sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going," Fiona said picking herself off the ground.

The man she ran into dusted off his pants before speaking. "It's quite alright," the man said standing up. He grabbed his things and walked away without ever facing Fiona. She thought it was a bit impolite but decided not to say anything because she was in a hurry.

She was about to leave before she realized that there was a small white envelope lying on the ground. "Excuse me sir but you forgot this!" Fiona yelled out turning around but the guy was nowhere in sight. "Weird. Where did he go?" she asked herself kneeling down to grab the envelope.

Her eyes widened when she looked at the envelope only to see her full name neatly written on it. She would've thought it to be someone else by the name of Fiona if it didn't say Fiona Alisi Lynette on the front.

Fiona was confused but opened up the envelope anyways. Her eyes skimmed it and widened at what she read. The letter inside held just about all the answer that she'd been looking for during this past week.

Dear Fiona,

I'm sorry to say that I wasn't completely honest with you when you came to me yesterday to ask for help. I was being cautious because I didn't know if you were telling the truth or if someone might be listening in on the conversation since there are so many people that are looking for him. I feel like I can trust you with this information though.

About a month ago I got a message from a close friend of mine several towns over mentioning a man being brought in. The thing was that the man was identified as Van Flyheight through his blood since he wasn't conscious to tell us his name.

You will find a map enclosed with this letter to help you get there. As far as I'm aware, he's still in the same state that he was in when he was first brought in. He is being guarded by a friend of mine; I've given a letter to you to give to her so that no problems will occur when you try to see him.

Sincerely,

Leo Ericson

Fiona couldn't help but feel happy and worried at the same time. She was aware that he was injured since Zack said that he got shot when a gun supposedly misfired and then Zack supposedly shot him in self defense. She had no idea that he was still in such a bad state nearly a month afterwards.

She was still cautious about going but she knew that it was the only lead that she had to go on. "I guess we'll be going Zeke. Maybe we'll actually be able to see Van again," Fiona said with hope shining in her once dead eyes.

Zeke roared in agreement and the two of them rushed the hidden blade liger. It wasn't long before they were both in and prepared for the journey. "By the looks of it, it will take maybe four or five hours to get there," she said looking at the map in her hands as well as the one that appeared on the screen.

* * *

The town Fiona entered several hours later was a lot more beautiful than most of the towns that she'd seen in all her travels with Van. It was on the edge of a beautiful lake and had lots of beautiful trees and plants scattered all over the place.

"This place is beautiful. Maybe Van and I could stay here for a while when I see him," she thought with a bit of hope as Zeke followed after her. "What do you think of that idea Zeke?" she asked him which got her an enthusiastic roar of agreement from her organoid.

The one problem that Fiona found out really quickly was that the place was really big. It was really hard for her to be able to find the place that she was looking for. There were many doctors office and she just didn't have any idea which one belong the doctor she was looking for.

Someone tapped on her shoulder which startled Fiona but she didn't say anything as she turned around to come face to face with a really old man. "You look lost young lady. Is there anything I could do to help? It's no trouble. I like to help anyone in need," he said with a laugh that reminded her of Dr. D.

"I really do need some help. "I was wondering if you could tell me where I can find a doctor Lira. It's really important that I find her," Fiona pleaded to the old man hoping that he knew exactly where she was.

"Lira eh?" the man questioned and Fiona nodded her head. "It shouldn't be hard to find from here. Take that street for about three blocks and take a left. Go about another three blocks and then take a right. Her office should be the first building on the right,' the man said and noticed as Fiona's face really started to brighten up.

"Thank you very much sir," Fiona said before turning and she ran as fast as she could in the direction that the man had described. Zeke kept up with her all the way as she ran nonstop the entire distance.

When she reached the right street, Fiona couldn't help but gasp for air after the run that was a lot longer than she had expected it to be. "Are you really around here Van?" Fiona asked herself looking at the several building lined up on both sides of the road.

Her eyes stopped on the one that she'd been told about and she walked up to it and walked in since the door was wide open. "Excuse me, is there anyone here/" Fiona called out hesitantly looking around the place.

"Just a second," a female voice yelled back and then walked into the room a few moments later. "What can I do for you Miss?" she asked before looking at Fiona's stomach. "Or are you here for an exam?" she couldn't help but question.

The woman before Fiona was a few inches taller than Fiona. She wore the same doctor's coat that Leo wore. Her hair was brown and held up in a messy bun at the top of her head. Her figure was well curved. Her blues eyes studied Fiona quizzically from behind a pair of glasses. She was very beautiful but her eyes seemed to hold a rather bored tone to them.

Fiona suddenly found herself afraid to ask the question that could help her get to Van quickly. "No, I was wondering if you could help me. I'm looking for Van Flyheight," she finally managed to say despite how nervous she was feeling at that moment.

The woman stared at Fiona for a few seconds while looking at her up and down as if trying to assess who it was that she was talking to. She then suddenly turned around and started to walk away. "Sorry, don't know where he is," she said heading to her office. She was stopped though when Fiona continued to speak.

"A-a doctor Leo Ericson sent me here. He said that you knew where I could find Van!" Fiona said quickly before the woman could leave. Fiona was on the verge of giving up hope on ever being able to find Van. This woman before her was one of her last chances to find the one that she loved the most.

"Leo sent you?" the woman asked as if she didn't believe what Fiona was telling her. "Listen, I don't appreciate you bugging me like this. I'm really busy," the woman said before realizing that Fiona was holding something out to her. She reached out and grabbed what appeared to be a letter.

She read it over for several minutes looking between it and Fiona several times. She then just sighed and turned around. "Fine then. Follow me," she said walking towards a room that was towards the back of the place.

Fiona followed slowly behind her as the other woman walked into a room. Fiona silently walked in. Her eyes immediately landed upon a bed where a lone figure lay very still. Her eyes filled with tears upon seeing the state the one she loved was in. "I've finally found you Van."


End file.
